


In the Absence of Memories

by Tashakki



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn, So slow it's turned into a novel, The novel has life of its own, VERY VERY VERY slow burn, i kid you not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:15:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 65,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3235883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashakki/pseuds/Tashakki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damon and Bonnie find themselves in another town with a whole new life and without their memories.  (Post 5X22)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very FIRST fanfiction. I hope I can finish this and entertain as many people as the people who have entertained me with their stories.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time.
> 
> XOXO.

“No Lisa, there is no way I will believe that love exists because there is no such thing. It’s just fodder for writers and poets.”  Jackie said huffing out a sigh of frustration.

“Don't be so pessimistic, just because Justin turned out to be a jackass, it doesn’t mean love is a hoax.”

“I don't know Lisa, it’s easy for you to say because you and Brad have been together forever, why don't the two of you do us all a favour and just get married already.”

Jackie was walking back home from her boring evening Literature class that she had discovered too late required she read Romeo and Juliet another love story by Shakespeare. But it had been that or Geography and she hated Geography even more. So Literature it was. Stupid prerequisites! She had called her best friend Lisa hoping she would support her but she should have known better.

“Don't worry, we'll get married,have 2 kids and a dog. My wedding will also be an opportunity for me to see you in a frilly girly dress as you stand beside me as my maid of honour.” Lisa said sweetly with a laugh.

“Argh, kill me now! I don't know why I ever thought you could make me feel better.” Jackie said quickening her steps.

“The class won't be so bad, don't worry about it and I don't know whether you know this but Romeo and Juliet is actually a tragedy so that should feed your morbid need for unhappiness or whatever.”

“I don’t have a …”

Before Jackie could finish the sentence she tripped over something and fell.

“Jackie, Jackie? What’s going on, are you ok? Jackie?” Lisa yelled frantically into the phone.

“Oh my God…” Jackie said.

“Jackie, what is it?”

Jackie had no idea how to explain what she was seeing to her friend who was growing frantic by the minute. It was almost as if the universe was having a laugh at her expense.

“Jackie, you're freaking me out, tell me what is happening. Are you okay?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah Lisa, I’m fine. I just tripped.”

“What did you trip on?”

Jackie was still trying to process what she was looking at. There was a man and a young lady lying unconsciously in the middle of the sidewalk holding hands. She knelt down and tried to feel for a pulse first on the man and then on the girl. They were unconscious but still alive.

“Jackie, are you listening to me, what did you trip on?”

“Romeo and Juliet.”

“What?”

“I tripped over Romeo and Juliet. Lisa I need to hang up and call an ambulance.”


	2. Part 1:The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It doesn't matter who I am, as long as I can talk to you as I once did before I knew you.

He woke up in a hospital bed with a splitting headache. He had tried to get up twice but each time, he had given up and laid back down.

“You're awake?” He heard a voice say.

He turned around and saw a short brunette woman dressed in scrubs turn to look at him skeptically. He assumed she was a nurse. Maybe she could give him something for his damn headache. Before he could say anything she said,

“I’ll get the doctor” and left the room.

She came back in what seemed like an eternity to him with a tall blonde man in a white coat.

Oh great, the doctor. I can probably get morphine now. He thought.

“Hello. The nurse tells me you're awake. I’d like to do a small examination and make sure everything is in order, alright?”

The blonde doctor said as he shone a light in his left eye and then his right. Satisfied, he stood back and looked at him.

“You’re in Tonmore University hospital. Can you tell us anything about what happened?” the doctor asked him looking at him curiously.

“What do you mean?” He said.

“You were brought in yesterday with your girlfriend after you were found unconscious on a sidewalk not far from here.”

“What?” He asked even more confused. “Girlfriend?” He asked and frowned as he tried to remember whether he had one.

He did not miss the significant look the doctor gave the nurse at his growing confusion.

“Ok. Let’s start with an easy one. Sir, what’s your name?”

“My name is…” He did not know.

He swallowed hard as he tried to think. It dawned on him like a ton of bricks that he did not know who he was and where he was from.

“Sir?” He heard the doctor ask, obviously waiting for an answer to his question.

“I don’t know.” He said to the doctor looking at him with panicked eyes.

“It’s ok, calm down.” The doctor sensing his fear said.

“Get some rest, I'll check on you later.” The doctor said as he walked out of the room the nurse following close behind.

He watched them go as he realized rather belatedly that he had not asked for anything for his headache.

                                                                             **

Two rooms down a similar situation was happening with another doctor.

“Miss, can you recall anything from the previous day at all?” Dr Henderson asked

“No, I don't know…” The brown skinned girl answered.

Doctor Craig Henderson had seen such cases before. He was pretty sure the young lady now looking at him quite perplexed had amnesia. Just to make sure he asked a few general questions.

“What year is it?”

“2014”. She said without hesitation.

“Who is the president?”

“Barrack Obama.”

He was satisfied; she had short term amnesia, probably as a protective mechanism to protect her from whatever trauma she must have gone through before she was found unconscious on the road.

“Alright, I'm going to let you rest for a while. I'll be back later to check on you.” He told her kindly.

What he needed to do urgently was consult with Dr Nelson who was treating the young man she had been found with. He gave her a smile and left with the nurse.

                                                                           **

The moment the door was closed he headed straight to Dr Nelson’s office. He found him in his office with a pensive look on his face.

“Tell me your patient doesn't know his name?” He said to his colleague without preamble. They had known each other since medical school and had remained friends since then. It was times like these that Craig Henderson was grateful for whatever fate had let them work in the same hospital. Especially at times when medical cases were perplexing and he just needed a friend to talk to about it.

“No. This is weird. Most amnesia cases have gone through some kind of trauma but I can't seem to find any physical trauma on my John Doe. You?” Dr Nelson asked.

“None whatsoever. I can't even find out the reason why she was unconscious. For all intents and purposes she’s healthy.” Henderson replied.

“I’m leaning toward it being psychological.”

“Maybe we should call in the hospital therapist for this.”

“Before that I think we should break it to them, maybe seeing each other will trigger something?” Nelson asked his long-time friend.

“I don't see why not, later though. They need rest.”

They both agreed as they switched the topic to their families.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************

 

He woke up to the sound of the door opening. He opened his eyes slowly not willing to go through a repeat performance of a splitting headache from hell. When he finally turned towards the door he saw the tall blonde doctor from before and another man. He looked at the new dark-haired doctor puzzled. Sensing his confusion doctor Nelson spoke up,

“Are you ok?”

He nodded gingerly.

“This is Dr Craig Henderson, he has been treating the girl you were brought in with last night.”

He had no response for that so he just smiled at Dr Henderson.

“There is no good way to put this so I am just going to come out and say it. You've probably already figured it for yourself anyway,” Dr Henderson said. “Dr Nelson and I think you might be suffering from short-term amnesia. This means you can’t remember what happened to you recently or anything about yourself.”

He smirked. He had known even without being told.

“Is there a way to get my memories back?” He asked looking at each of the doctors in turn.

“Unfortunately, no.” Dr Nelson replied. “In most cases patients eventually remember and sometimes they never do, it is not guaranteed either way.”

“Well that’s just dandy isn't it?” He asked sarcastically.

“We're sorry.” Craig said. It’s not like he could really blame them, it wasn't their fault. Then he remembered something and asked.

“You said, I came in with someone?”

“Yes,” Dr Nelson said, “would you like to see her?”

“Yeah, why not?” He said trying to get up from bed. Third time must be the charm because this time he managed to get up from the bed without wishing he could throw his head away.

“She’s two doors down, why don’t Dr Nelson and I walk you there.”

He did not complain because he wasn't sure he could walk himself there even if he tried. Walking slowly, they finally arrived and the doctors walked him in and walked away.

 

“Hey? This is the part where I introduce myself but it seems I have forgotten who I am.” He said as he approached the bed.

She was smiling at him probably because of his introduction. He couldn't help thinking she had a beautiful smile. She outstretched a small arm to give him her hand.

“Hey, don't worry about it, I don't remember who I am either.” She said.

He took her hand and smiled. She had large brown eyes that stood out from her beautiful caramel face framed with a bob cut.

“It’s very nice to meet you Jane Doe.” He said as he shook her hand and smiled back.

“It’s very nice to meet you too John Doe.” She said smiling back.

He let go of her hand and looked around for a seat because he was pretty sure his legs were about to give out.

He spotted a chair on the other side of the bed and headed for it. Once he'd brought it closer to the bed he sat down.

“Word around the hospital is that we were brought in together, apparently we were holding hands any idea what that’s about?” He asked his eyes twinkling mischievously.

“I was hoping you could tell me, since you were the one holding my hand and all.” she said.

“No way, you probably took my hand without me doing anything, I may not know much about myself but I am sure I don’t do hand holding.” He said smiling.

She laughed. It really was a great laugh.

“I doubt that Mr tough guy.” She said.

“You know the nurses here have been in an uproar talking in what, I assume they mistake for whispering, loud voices about our story.”

“Uproar, really? I think you are exaggerating a bit.”

“Maybe. This is weird.”

“No kidding. When I realized I couldn’t remember my life I didn't know whether to be sad about it or not. It’s not like I can remember what I've lost so…” she said.

“Well, I think, this is an opportunity for us to do it all over again.”

“Are you always this optimistic?” She asked curiously.

“I wouldn’t know.”

They both started laughing at the absurdity of their situation. They talked about nothing important until a nurse came into the room and practically shoved him out the door with orders to go to his own room.

 ********************************************************************************************************************************

Jane Doe couldn’t sleep. It was impossible when every hour she could hear the nurses walking around, in and out of rooms checking on patients. She had tossed and turned for hours and she had had enough. She sat up in her bed and wondered whether the blue-eyed John Doe was still awake. She got out of bed and headed straight to his room. She opened the door and peeked in.

“Are you awake?” she asked in a loud whisper.

With relief she saw him turn around in the dark room.

“What are you doing awake?” He asked.

He looked cute with his hair tousled from sleep she thought and smiled.

“I couldn’t sleep. Can I come in?” She asked hesitantly.

“Sure. I wasn't doing that well either.” He said sitting up in bed.

She walked in and pulled a chair.

“You know I was thinking that I would really like to hear more about this Bela Lugosi person.”

“How do you not know about Bela Lugosi, how old are you?” He asked quite perplexed.

“I think the better question here, is how old are you? From what you told me that guy is really old, actually I think he’s dead.” She said screwing up her face.

That conversation escalated quickly and by the time Dr Nelson came in they were bickering like an old married couple.


	3. Dr Theodore Russell Caldwell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our past always comes back to haunt us, whether in retribution, gratitude or at the insistence of fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if the chapter is long. This character is important and he plays a role in how things will turn out and I wanted him to have a chapter.

Theo or Dr T as most of his students liked to call him was a tormented man. He was not an alcoholic nor was he guilty of any offence; his torment came from a near death experience. When most people wake up in the morning, they think about what they need to do but Theo always thinks about how lucky he is that he is alive. He wasn’t a religious fanatic but he did believe in his faith. He also believed in charity, goodwill, love and hate but most of all he believed in heaven and hell. Since that fateful night he had done the same thing in the morning religiously. He would open his eyes, look around his room to make sure his demons had not become reality while he was asleep and close his eyes again. He would then say a prayer; it was always the same every morning,

‘Thank you God. I survived another night. Please keep me safe from the demons throughout the day. Thank you for the demon who let me live. Amen.’

It wasn't a traditional prayer, but it was the one that meant something to him. He had prayed the same prayer this morning before he got into his car to drive to Tonmore University to see Dr Todd Nelson. Theo would do anything for the good doctor, all he needed to do was ask. Todd had helped him through that difficult time in his life. Todd had found him a great therapist and convinced him to attend the sessions. Todd had also convinced him to volunteer at the Staton Rehab clinic every weekend. The clinic is where he had finally been able to accept and live with his tortured soul. The therapy had been a great distraction but it had never helped Theo. It wasn't the therapist’s fault; therapy had never worked because he had never told the truth about what was tormenting him. He never would. The rehab clinic had been another story. He had figured if he could not outrun his demons he might as well help other people overcome their own. It had worked like a charm. After a month, he had requested a more permanent position at the clinic and three weeks later he had stopped seeing the therapist. The nightmares had become less frequent but they never really went away and he learned to live with them.

When Todd had called him two days earlier and asked him for a favour, there had been no hesitation on Theo’s part. If he could use his position now to help Todd, it was a small price to pay to show his gratitude to the doctor. After Todd had introduced him to the rehab clinic, he had spent his weeks when he wasn't there at school. He had poured all his time and energy into getting his PhD. He had had no social life because that would require him hanging out with his classmates at one bar or another. He wasn't averse to drinking; he just couldn't do it in a bar. In some sick twist of fate, his tormented mind had resulted in him becoming the youngest member of Tonmore’s Board of Directors and the youngest head of faculty at the University. Most people got there through hard work and dedication, in Theo’s case he had been driven to success by a tormented soul.

He parked his car in the hospital’s parking lot and made his way to Todd’s office. He had already said yes to the favour but he still needed to find out what it was. The door to Todd’s office was open so he poked his head in.

“Hey Todd, is this a good time?” Theo asked.

“Theo, it’s so good to see you. Please come in.” Dr Nelson said standing up from behind his large mahogany desk. He walked to Theo and gave him a hug.

Theo walked in and saw that there was another doctor in the room as he hugged Todd back.

“This is Dr Craig Henderson,” Todd said placing his hand on Theo’s shoulder. “He has been treating one of the patients I told you about.” Todd steered Theo towards the empty chair next to his desk. “Craig this is my good friend Dr Theodore Caldwell.”

“Nice to meet you.” Craig said holding out his hand for Theo to shake.

“Nice to meet you too.” Theo said as he shook Craig’s offered hand and sat down. “Todd here tells me that your patients are quite the conundrum. Have you guys found out what happened to them yet?”

“Not really, because of their memory loss we haven't been able to establish why they were unconscious. There isn't much we know about them either but we were thinking of involving the police at this point to find out who they are.” Craig said.

“We were also hoping that once the police do a search they can contact their family members.” Todd added.

“That sounds like a good plan. It seems you've got it all figured out, what do you need me for?” Theo asked smiling.

“Well, when our patients aren't bickering with each other and John Doe isn't flirting with the nurses, we have discovered that John might be a Historical genius.” Todd said smiling mischievously.

“What?” Theo asked laughing.

“We are not joking. The whole hospital staff has been placing bets on whether John Doe will ever get anything wrong. He seems to know even more than Google.” Craig said.

“Dr Henderson and I were thinking that his skills would be better used at the University, in your faculty to be exact. We know the university has been having trouble finding a History lecturer since Dr Moore went on sick leave. We thought you might want to give John Doe a try.” Dr Nelson said hopefully.

“Well, I don't know about that since I don't have the authority to hire your patient. He has to have some credentials before he can even teach at the University.” Theo said skeptically.

“We know that but because you're a board member, your sway can go a long way. Jane Doe, that’s the girl he was found with, can attend as a student if it all works out. They can’t remember each other but they get along famously when they're not arguing. I'm convinced he wouldn't go anywhere without her.” Todd said.

“Those are a lot of requests but I'll try my best. I'll need to at least meet these two people before I do anything.” Theo said.

“Of course, we can see them now.” Todd said standing up from his chair. “I am also hoping that your need to help people will help you make the right decision.” Todd added winking at Theo.

Craig and Theo both laughed as they stood to follow Todd out of his office.

 ********************************************************************************************************************************

As Theo walked beside his friend and Craig and he could not help thinking about what Todd had said.

_“I am also hoping that your need to help people will help you make the right decision.”_

His friend was right; he did have a compulsive need to help people when he could. It had been the only therapy that had worked then but he had never really learned how to stop. In other ways it was his way of saying thank you to a monster he hoped to never see again. It had been a traumatising night but he never would have survived if it hadn't been for that dark-haired demon. Theo was convinced that it was his fervent prayer that had made the man leave him alone. He had looked right at Theo and walked away. Theo shook his head trying to dispel the horrific images replaying in his head from that dreadful night. This was not the time or the place to think about that night. He had survived this long, he could survive another day.

“Here we are.” Todd said leading them into a room.

Theo’s heart stopped beating the moment he laid eyes on the man sitting up in the bed. He knew at the back of his mind that Todd was talking but he could not understand what he was saying. Todd’s voice seemed to be coming from a distance. At this point Theo did not care what Todd was saying, he had bigger problems. It is easy to survive tragedy. It is another story to come face to face with the tragedy and memories better left buried.

 

                                                                                                        ***

**_Tennessee 2011_ **

_It was his 29 th birthday. He had come home at his mother’s insistence. She had wanted to celebrate the last year of his 20’s with her only son. How could he say no to his mother, she was the only family he had left. His father had died 2 years on his second tour to Afghanistan. That’s why he was home when his childhood friend Kerry called to say that she would buy him a drink at the bar._

_“I can’t believe this place is still standing.” Theo said walking into the bar with Kerry beside him._

_“This bar will never die just like old man Anderson and that big ass loud junk refrigerator. That old guy and that fridge have refused to quit.” Kerry said laughing._

_“Oh my God, do you remember that time Mr Anderson busted us drinking when we were 13 in the bathroom?” Theo asked sitting down facing the parking lot while Kerry sat in the opposite chair facing the door._

_“Are you kidding? I will never live that day down. Whose idea was it anyway? It must have been Jack’s.” Kerry said hiding her face behind her hands in embarrassment._

_“I was grounded for a month and forbidden to talk or hang around any of you guys.” Theo said laughing. “This place brings back memories. My dad used to work here when I was five years old. Every day before his shift was over, I used to sneak behind that loud fridge and hide. He would always find me though.”_

_“I remember that’s where we met, you took me behind the fridge and we shared this big tub of ice-cream.” Kerry said smiling at him warmly._

_“Oh yea, I had forgotten about that, your mother finally found us by accident when she was going to the bathroom. That was only because her earring fell and rolled right behind the fridge. If that damn earring had just rolled in the opposite direction then we would have been safe.” Theo said returning her smile._

_“I was grounded that day too, so thanks.” Kerry said playfully hitting his arm._

_“I can’t believe I am 29 years old. That was a lifetime ago.” He said ruefully looking past Kerry at the blonde man closing his car door out in the parking lot. He did not look familiar. “This used to be such a small town. I used to know everyone when I used to live here.” He said looking behind him to see the blonde man walk into the bar._

_“It’s still a small town and it has changed a bit but the burgers are still to die for and I'm starving.” Kerry said picking up the menu._

_“Alright, alright, I'll head to the bathroom. Just get me whatever you're having.” He said standing up to go to the bathroom._

_He was washing his hands, when he became aware of a lot of screaming. He headed to the door without bothering to dry his hands and almost stepped on a headless body right in front of the bathroom door. When he looked up he saw that the once cream coloured walls were covered in blood. There were several bodies on the floor, some with their necks barely attached to their heads. He saw what was causing the massacre through the reflection on the stainless steel surface on the stage to his right. It was the blonde man, only Theo wasn't sure he was a man at all. His eyes were black with prominent veins visible below his eyes. He was holding Kerry up by her neck. He seemed to be asking her something but he couldn't hear what he was saying because of the people screaming. Kerry must have said something wrong because the blonde tore off her head without hesitation. Instinct took over after that and he found himself hiding behind the fridge just as he had done when he was 5 years old. He crouched to the floor and held his breath, his eyes never leaving the stainless steel surface._

_Eventually the screams turned into whimpers and then there was only one person left. He could now hear what the monster was asking. He was looking for a man called Ray Sutton. Just as the blonde monster ripped his final victim apart Theo heard another voice shout across the bar._

_“Stefan! God damn it Stefan! What has Klaus done to you?”_

_That voice wasn't the monster’s. Theo could not understand who would dare speak like that to this rabid animal. He saw the blonde man referred to as Stefan turn around to face the voice. Theo still could not see the new comer on the reflective surface._

_“Damon, haven't you figured it out yet, I don't want to be saved, leave me alone.” Stefan said throwing the body to the ground just like one would discard a rag doll._

_“What is this? Is this the Ripper 2.0? You need to stop doing this and come home.” said the new voice again finally visible to Theo._

_Stefan grabbed the medium built, dark-haired man by his collar and said,_

_“This is the last time Damon. Stop following me, because the next time I see you I will kill you.” Stefan said shoving him across the room._

_Just when Theo thought the other man was dead he saw him stand up. He was standing in front of Stefan before Theo could blink. The average height man stood there staring steadily at Stefan._

_“I trust you'll take care of this mess, brother?” Stefan said gesturing around the room before he vanished leaving Theo bewildered by what he was seeing._

_“They're brothers? So is he a monster too?” Theo thought frantically._

_The dark-haired man referred to as Damon stood in the middle of the bar and looked at the destruction left behind. Theo watched as he placed each of the bodies at different tables at varying angles of rest. He even placed the dismembered heads back to their bodies. He did all that at lightning speed. At first Theo couldn't understand what he was doing until he realized that at first glance all the victims seemed to be drinking or eating._

_“He’s staging the whole thing.” Theo thought._

_Theo watched as Damon uttered a few choice curse words before he started heading towards the bathroom. Theo remembered rather belatedly that there was a body right outside the bathroom door and if the man picked it up he would be able to see him._

_“This is it. I am going to die on my birthday.” Theo thought. He could hear his heart hammering in his chest and he was convinced people in other countries could hear it. He watched the man dressed in black pants and a leather jacket draw closer and closer. Damon finally stopped right in front of the body and Theo started praying frantically in his head. Damon bent down to pick up the body and just as Theo had feared, Damon saw him. Theo held his breath and stared right back at the startling blue eyes. Soon the eyes changed colour and they became just as black and veiny as Stefan’s. Theo couldn't look away even when he knew he should. He was paralysed with fear._

_“This guy’s name is Damon.” Theo thought. It was a silly thing to be thinking when you’re staring death right in the face. After what seemed like a lifetime to Theo, the blue-eyed man turned around lifted the dead body onto his shoulder and walked away. Theo could not believe it._

_It took Theo a while to get his wits together, but when he finally did he saw what Damon was doing to the gas pipes behind the bar. Without a moment’s thought he ran into the bathroom and out of the window before he could think better of it. The moment his feet hit the ground, he ran and he did not stop. He did not stop when he heard the explosion, he did not stop when a car almost ran him over and he did not stop running until he was locked inside his room. When he finally came out of his room two days later, he heard that the explosion at the bar had been caused by a gas leak. When his mother said what a tragedy it was he nodded and said nothing. When he paid his respects to Kerry’s parents and someone said it had been a terrible accident, he nodded and said nothing. He left home a day after Kerry’s funeral and never went back. When his mother called him a month later and told him that she understood that Kerry’s death was keeping him away from home but that she missed him, he grunted his agreement and promised to see her soon. He never spoke of what happened in that bar with anyone and he never went back home again._

_***_

“Theo, are you ok?” Todd asked him shaking his shoulder.

“Yes. I am fine.” Theo said in a shaky voice.

“Theo this is John Doe, he’s the Historical buff we were talking about.” Todd said.

All Theo could think in that moment was,

 

“That’s no John Doe. I’d know this man anywhere. This man let me live. This guy’s name is Damon.”

 

 


	4. Viral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a colorful past, if you dig deep enough you will always find it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys,
> 
> For those of you who are still reading this work, thank you so much.
> 
> I would like to make a few things clear for this chapter. This is not a 'Ripper' fan fiction. I am not going to write Stefan as the Ripper in this work. The ripper might be referenced, but Stefan is not that person anymore in this work. However since Stefan is introduced to the story by two characters who have not met the good Stefan, they paint him as the evil brother.These two characters cannot see Stefan any other way because of what they both witnessed the ripper do. So kindly bear with me until Stefan shows up in the story and he will.
> 
> Thanks again for reading.

‘Shit, shit, shit, fucking shit.’ Theo yelled in his empty apartment while pacing back and forth in his living room. The room was getting smaller and smaller and he needed more space. He felt as if he was suffocating. He needed to think. He ran up to his bedroom threw on some running clothes, grabbed his IPod and went out the door.

It was 5.30am, it was still dark out but Theo wasn’t worried. He lived in a safe neighbourhood. The locals called the neighbourhood, ‘the Rodeo Drive’ of Stanton. The tenants of the prestigious neighbourhood were tycoons, Hollywood celebrities with family in the area, heads of blue-chip companies and in one case an Oil baron. Theo couldn’t complain, he had done well for himself.

The best thing about living here was the view which was spectacular even when the only light came from the streetlights. But, tonight Theo could care less about the view; he had a lot on his mind. He felt his body adjusting to his quick running pace and concentrated on the burn in his thighs.

It had been two days since he’d met his worst nightmare. Todd had asked him for a favour and under normal circumstances he would have done it immediately but this time he did not know how or what to do. He had not slept since then and he did not remember if he had eaten anything in the last 48 hours. He had cancelled all his classes and meetings and had filed for a sick leave. His secretary had been so surprised that she had dropped by to check on him because he never went on leave. When his secretary had seen him, she had gone home convinced that he was dying. He had not told her anything of the sort, she had come to that conclusion all on her own. His always neat hair had been all over the place, he had had bags under his eyes and the vibrant grey colour of his eyes had turned into a pale shade grey that looked more like swill. Stress and fear tend to do that to people. To Miss Austin he had looked like the vision of death and not the hot doctor everyone thought he was.

‘What am I supposed to do here?’ Theo asked himself as he turned a corner. On the one hand Damon was a monster just like his brother; a monster who had let him live, but a monster nonetheless. Probably the better tense to use in this case was past tense, since Damon had since become human. Theo had confirmed that fact before he had left the hospital that day. Todd had been flabbergasted by his question of course but he had answered him anyway. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to let a murderer albeit a reformed one walk around among them? On the other hand if he let Todd proceed with his plans to call the police he could sit back and watch the world find out what he was. The problem with that was that the whole world included his murderous brother Stefan. The last interaction he had witnessed between the two brothers included a promise by Stefan to kill Damon if he ever saw him again. Eventually when that happened, Stefan would figure out one way or another who he was and his survival up until this point would have been for nothing.

‘What if that monster comes to Tonmore and murders everyone in the name of finding his brother. Could I live with that?’ Theo thought as he ran harder.

It was a choice between two monsters. He knew from experience that Stefan would kill everyone. He’d seen it happen while he was looking for Ray Sutton. How much more havoc would he wreck if he was looking for his brother?

Theo stopped running. He bent over trying to catch his breath.

‘That’s it.’ He thought sitting down on the pavement. ‘If I protect Damon I have the opportunity to keep an eye on him and make sure his brother never finds him. I could make sure he is never found. He’s human now anyway.’ Theo thought a plan finally forming in his head.

That’s exactly what he was going to do. Some time back one of the people he had helped out at the rehab clinic had once given him a card and told him to use it if he ever wanted to disappear. At the time he had thought it was a joke. The guy had told him that it was gift to thank him for what he had done for him. Once he had gotten home, he had thrown it in a drawer somewhere.

‘I need to find that card.’ Theo thought as he begun to run back toward his house. He did not need to disappear but Damon needed to.

 

 ********************************************************************************************************************************

 

Theo’s desk was in shambles. He’d gone in search of the card the moment he’d stepped out of the shower and dressed.  The white t-shirt he had thrown on did nothing to hide his lean muscular body and the jogging pants hung loose on his hips as he upended another drawer.

‘That’s it,’ He said into the empty room as he lifted a white card with a single name on it. The name on the card said Viral. There was nothing else printed on the card except for an instruction written in small script at the bottom. The instructions said _rub three times._

‘Well, that’s absurd and stupid,’ Theo thought but he did it anyway.

“Hello?”

Theo heard a voice coming from his living room. He dropped the card and went in search of the intruder. Once he got to the room he almost had a heart attack. There on his T.V which he would have sworn was turned off was a boy who looked no more than 20.

“Hey, you called?” The boy said.

“Excuse me?” Theo said trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing.

“My name is Viral, you rubbed the card?”

“What?” Theo asked looking for the remote control. Once he saw it, he tried to put off the T.V but the boy remained on his screen. He did not understand what was happening.

“Let me take a wild guess, you found my card somewhere in a heap of discarded papers, thought that it was absurd that it said rub three times but because you were desperate you did it anyway and now you’re hyperventilating because you can’t understand what’s happening? Am I right professor?” Viral leaning back in his chair asked Theo. Viral seemed to be in a vacant room with white walls.

“I’m not a professor.” Theo said sitting down in his sofa still staring at the large flat screen T.V mounted on his wall.

“You should be, I read your paper on ‘ _Why our History will affect the generations of the future’._ It was quite an interesting read.”

“Who are you?”

“I told you, my name is Viral. What can I help you with? I really hope you’re not trying to disappear when you’ve done so well for yourself despite your past.”

“Why would you say, despite my past? What do you know?” Theo asked worriedly.

“I know a lot about you man, including the things you don’t talk about.” Viral said amused.

Theo did not have time for this.

“I was given your card by…” Theo started.

“I know who gave you the card Theo; just tell me what you need.” Viral said cutting him off.

“How can you possibly know that?”

“I make it my business to know the people I’m dealing with.”

Theo stared at the boyish looking face on his screen utterly bewildered.

“I need to meet with you face to face, there are some things I need you to do.” Theo said after a moment.

“You’re looking at me right now.” Viral said running his hand through his dirty blonde hair while his emerald green eyes sparkled with amusement.

“No that’s not what I mean.” Theo said.

“I know that’s not what you meant, so let me make it clear for you. This is the only meeting you will get. This signal cannot be traced neither can it be tapped. If anyone were to walk in right now they would see you talking to a blank screen and think you had gone crazy. At this moment I have control of every electronic device in your house including your washing machine and coffee maker. If you have documents you need to share just scan them I‘ll see them, if they’re on your laptop I will find them. I have dealt with more dangerous people than you professor. I have lived this long because I can keep secrets better than a dead man. Whatever you have to say I probably already know. So professor let’s get to it, what do you want?”

Theo leaned back into the sofa and sat in silence and thought through what he had just been told. He was convinced Viral would think him insane if he said what he wanted.

“I need you to make someone disappear. His name is Damon, I don’t know his last name.” Theo begun hesitantly.

“Do you mean Damon Salvatore?”

“What?” Theo asked shocked.

“Do you mean this guy?” Viral asked, his face disappearing from the screen to be replaced by Damon’s face.

“How do you know that?”

“Professor, you need to stop asking me that question.” Viral said his face coming back on screen. “Why do you need Damon to disappear and where is he?” Viral continued.

Theo remained silent.

“For this to work Theo I need the truth. I need to counter for any eventualities and I can’t do that if there are loop holes in your story. Like I said before I probably already know more than you do so spit it out.” Viral said.

“I need to keep him away from his brother.” Theo said silently. “If his brother finds him there will be a repeat of …” Theo stopped talking.

“I assume you’re referring to the guy who went on a murder spree in Tennessee in 2011. The murder you witnessed. Before you ask, yes I saw the whole thing too. I have access to CCTV cameras as well.”

“The police said nothing out of the ordinary happened.” Theo said.

“I erased the footage. People die every day, as human beings we have accepted that fact but the details of how a death occurs are facts we have not learned to accept.”

“You could have helped those people.” Theo stood up suddenly and shouted vehemently at the screen.

“I tried, I called, I hacked into their phones, I even went as far as to hack into a patrol car and drive two terrified police officers to the scene of the crime. For some reason, none of them would respond. They kept saying ‘nothing was out of the ordinary’ as if they were in some kind of trance. Those people were murdered as two patrol officers sat outside the bar listening to the screams and mumbling ‘nothing out of the ordinary’. When the explosion finally happened I erased everything from the cameras. A few days later, I went to that small town and asked those officers what they saw and they still said ‘nothing out of the ordinary’.” Viral replied. “What did you want me to do release the video and watch as people try and wrap their heads around why it happened without them comprehending what was going on? Don’t you think that would have just added to their suffering?” Viral asked.

Theo had no response.

“Why didn’t you tell Kerry’s parents what had happened?” Viral asked. “I’ll tell you why, because you didn’t want them to know how badly she had died but you also didn’t want them to blame you for surviving when she didn’t.”

Theo knew what Viral was saying was true. He had always wondered the same thing himself.

“I kept tabs on you after that. I thought you would…,” Viral stopped and rubbed his hand across his face. “I don’t know how you woke up every morning. I had trouble waking up and I wasn’t even there. For me it was like watching a really bad horror film but you, you saw everything. I am sorry about your friend Kerry by the way. I just need you to believe that I tried.” Viral said.

Theo could not believe that he was talking about that incident with someone else. There had been another witness all along. He was not alone in his torment. That made him feel better but it did not erase the incident itself.

“I went back through all the records and tried to find murders that were similar to the one we witnessed. I wanted to link him to any murder I could find just so he could pay even in some small way for what he had done.” Viral said.

“What did you find?” Theo asked anxiously.

“I linked him to murders dating all the way back to 1864, for that I had to dig deep. I actually had to visit some of these places just to unearth those documents. I found what I was looking for but then I got scared.”

“That can’t be the same person!” Theo said.

“Oh trust me, it is. The brother you’re so afraid of is Stefan Salvatore aka The Ripper.”

“That can’t be right. The ripper as in Jack the ripper?” Theo asked sitting down trying to keep it together.

“The one and only, only his name isn’t Jack. I found death certificates belonging to the Salvatore brothers dating all the way back to 1864. They died in Mystic Falls from gunshot wounds. The death certificates claim Stefan was 17 and Damon was 25.” Viral said.

“Then it possibly can’t be them.” Theo said refusing to believe what he was hearing.

“I would agree except that the murder I traced back to Stefan in 1864 happened a day after he supposedly died. In fact I am inclined to believe that the man Stefan killed was his own father Giuseppe Salvatore.”

“Jesus Christ!” Theo exclaimed.

“Trust me on this Jesus has nothing to do with this!” Viral replied. “The brothers both show up again in the 1940’s, they were soldiers in World War II. Take a look at the picture.” Viral said as two black and white pictures appeared on the screen.

“My God, they haven’t aged at all.” Theo said in astonishment. “I knew they weren’t normal but this…”

“You wanted to forget Theo, so you buried your curiosity while I went digging.”

“How have they never been caught?” Theo asked.

“Well the explanation is simple, the people who should remember them often die of old age and those who are still young enough miraculously do not remember them.”

“What are they?”

“I think they’re vampires.”

“That’s impossible,” Theo said running his face in frustration. “There is no such thing.”

“I know it’s beyond belief but give it time you’ll come around. Now that we have established all that, it begs the question why are you trying to protect Damon Salvatore?” Viral asked looking straight at Theo.

“He’s human and he doesn’t remember who he is.” Theo said.

“What? How did that happen?” Viral asked scrunching up his face in disbelief.

“I don’t know, you’re the genius figure it out.” Theo said rising from the sofa again to pace across the room.

“They’ve been really quiet since 2011, I saw Damon once in New York with some girl but I haven’t spotted him or his brother since. Mystic Falls which is their hometown, holds all the secrets.” Viral said.

“Well we can’t deal with that now, he’s here and he has no idea who he is which means he’s dangerous. I need you to fix it. He was found with a girl, African-American looks about 19. Who is she?” Theo asked.

“Her name is Bonnie Sheila Bennet. She must have History with the Salvatore brothers. She has no family left in Mystic Falls. Both her father and her grandmother are deceased and her mother disappeared when she was a kid.” Viral answered.

“I can’t risk that Stefan knows her too, so take care of her too.” Theo said.

“What’s you plan professor?” Viral asked.

“Damon Salvatore is going to be a History lecturer at Tonmore University. His records need to convince the members of the board that he is a good fit for the University. Bonnie Bennet is going to be a student at Tonmore, she needs to fit the criteria to get a full scholarship from the Tonmore foundation. Can you do that?” Theo asked sitting back down on the sofa.

“Easy I know how to make people disappear and I also know how to create new people. But just as a warning, for all we know Stefan could still be a vampire, if he finds them…” Viral said

“Just make sure he never does, I’ll keep an eye on them from here.” Theo said

“Are they keeping their names?” Viral asked.

After a while Theo answered. “Yes. Technically we are killing them off, we should let them keep something that belongs to them, it’s the least we can do.”

“I’ll get back to you in two days professor so be here. It was nice to meet you.” Viral said.

Theo nodded and watched his screen go black.

‘Well that was straight out of a Science fiction novel.’ Theo thought.


	5. Bonnie Bennet and Damon Salvatore 2.0

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even with our memories gone, we still remain the same as we were before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a Bamon chapter

“Why are you brooding?” Jane Doe asked John Doe. “We’ve just been discharged from hospital and we are going to see Dr Caldwell who will hopefully tell us who we are.”

“I don’t brood,” John replied scrunching up his face. “I also do not like Mr Helpful. People are not that good. People don’t just pay your hospital bills, offer you a job and find out who you are.” He said draping his leather jacket across his right shoulder.

They were both wearing the clothes they had been found in. One of the nurses, one of the many who had a crush on him had been kind enough to ensure they were washed and pressed.

“What happened in your life that made you so cynical?” Jane asked

“I would be glad to answer that question but unfortunately, I have no idea.” John replied.

“Well, don’t be Peter Pessimist, just because you have no faith in people doesn’t mean that good people do not exist.”

“First of all, don’t ever call me that again. As we have established over the last few weeks, nick naming people is my thing. Second of all, you have no imagination whatsoever when it comes to picking nick names so just stop and thirdly no one is that good. He wants something.”

They were across the university quad making their way towards the admissions building where Mr Caldwell’s office was.

“Oh John Doe, just because you’re a dick doesn’t mean everyone else is.” She said. “What happened to this is an opportunity for us to start over guy. I liked that guy better.” She added.

“That guy hadn’t met the Godfather when he made that statement.” John replied.

“Did you just call Dr Caldwell the Godfather?”

“What else would he be, he is being very generous so that one day he can have us murdered if we ever cross him.”

Jane suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him.

“What?” He asked looking at her irritably

“You’re nervous!” She declared.

“And you’re annoying; now get to your point.”

“You’re nervous about what Dr Caldwell might have found out about us. What? Are you scared you might be a convicted felon?” Jane asked undeterred by his mood.

“The better question is why aren’t you? Do I need to remind you that we were found together, which means we might actually be facing a Bonnie and Clyde type situation.” He said seriously.

“Would you stop worrying about it? We don’t know what he might have found out and we have no reason to worry because we don’t remember anyway. As for the Bonnie and Clyde thing I just know deep in my soul that I wouldn’t do anything that I thought was wrong. I also know that if I’m hanging out with you, you couldn’t have been that bad. Whatever happens we will figure this out together. Now will you please stop brooding?” She asked.

He continued staring at her until he gave up. He put the arm that wasn’t holding his jacket around her slim shoulders as they started walking again toward the admissions building now in sight.

“Fine! We’ll handle it together.” He said.

“Good!” she replied

“You’re still the most annoying person I have ever met.” He said.

“And you’re still a dick.” She replied smiling

 

 *******************************************************************************************************************************

 

“Hey guys, did you have trouble finding the place?” Theo asked his guests as they walked into his office. He was back to his normal self. There wasn’t a hair out of place on his head, his eyes were sparkling and his 6 foot tall body was dressed in an immaculately pressed dark navy blue suit. The hot doctor was back.

“No trouble at all.” Jane Doe said as she sat down. Mr Doe remained silent as he sat in the chair next to her.

“Alright, I’ll get down to it then. I did a lot of digging and I am glad to say neither of you are running from the law. What I did find out is that both of you can attend Tonmore University.” Theo said removing a brown envelope from the top drawer of his desk.

“I don’t understand.” said Jane.

“What I mean is that your name is Bonnie Bennet.” Theo said smiling at her.

“If you say my name is Clyde, I’m going to kill myself.” John Doe said

Bonnie turned around to look at him and laughed.

“Nothing so cliché I’m afraid. Your name is Damon Salvatore.” Theo said waiting for a reaction. There was none except relief.

“Oh thank God,” Damon said. “Nice to meet you Bonnie Bennet.” he turned around and said to Bonnie.

“Nice to meet you too Damon.”

Theo produced two passports, identifications and driver’s licence from the envelope.

“I took the liberty of requesting for your documents from the government after explaining your situation; you do kind of need these things to work and study here.” He said smiling at both of them. He handed over the documents to each of them respectively.

“What did you find out about us, other than our names?” Damon asked as he flipped through his new passport.

“Well both of you come from the same town, Trenton. Bonnie just finished high school about a year ago. Damon used to be a lecturer at the Trenton College which probably explains your vast knowledge of History. Unfortunately, none of you have any surviving relatives.” Theo said

“You said, I used to, past tense,” Damon said.

“Yes, you resigned from Trenton around the same time Bonnie graduated. I just assumed you left together to explore the world so to speak. Your credentials however confirm that Bonnie was probably the only reason you stayed in Trenton because they’re impeccable. After seeing them the board was very impressed and have decided to give you the opportunity to teach here on a trial basis of course.” Theo said.

“Mmh…” Damon said in response.

“Forgive his lack of enthusiasm, he thought you were going to tell him that he was a murderer and wanted in 15 states.” Bonnie said rolling her eyes.

Theo’s heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to laugh at the suggestion.

“Nothing so morose Miss Bennet,” He said to her.

“Do I get to go here as well?” she asked changing the subject.

“Yes, because of your predicament and lack of family the Tonmore Foundation has granted you a full board scholarship.”

“That’s amazing, thank you.” Bonnie said smiling broadly.

“It was no problem, I’m just glad I could help.” Theo said.

“I would like to know if you found out what happened to my parents.” Bonnie said.

“From the report I read, I gathered that your mother disappeared when you were young and that both your father and your grandmother are deceased. I am sorry.” Theo told her

“Thanks, but I do not remember them.” Bonnie said in response.

Damon turned to look at her and took one of her hands in his. Bonnie squeezed his hand to show she was grateful for his concern.

“The University has a lot of programs you might be interested in, I asked one of our first year students to show you around if you’re up for it.” Theo said to Bonnie.

“Of course,” Bonnie said without hesitation.

While Theo talked on the phone with his secretary, Damon turned to speak to Bonnie.

“You don’t have to do this today. We can come back.” He said

“I’m fine Damon, I don’t remember them so I don’t feel the loss.” Bonnie said.

“I know that but it doesn’t negate the fact that you don’t have family.”

“Well, neither do you but I’m not worried about you. Besides I have you, so I don’t feel so alone and neither should you.” She replied

“Well, Lorna’s waiting for you outside if you want to leave now. I shall show Damon around the school as well, so don’t worry.” Theo said to bonnie once he had gotten off the phone.

Bonnie got up to leave giving Damon’s hand one last squeeze before she let go. Once she got to the door, she turned to Theo.

“Thanks, Dr Caldwell,” She said “See you later Damon.” She added as she closed the door behind her.

“I don’t mean to be ungrateful, Theo, is it? But I don’t trust you. No one just hands out dreams with no strings attached. I also don’t like how you reacted when you saw me. It was as if you recognized me.” Damon said.

“You don’t need to trust me Damon, all you need to know is that I am giving you an opportunity to have a second chance. As for the way I reacted, you just reminded me of someone I thought was dead. That’s all.” Theo replied willing his heart to calm down.

There was no point in unravelling the web of lies he and Viral had spun. Even if Bonnie and Damon decided to investigate on their own, they would find the information that Viral had put there. Viral had stuck to the true story as far as they could in both cases and erased any mention of them associated with Mystic Falls.

“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I would like to show you around the University.” Theo said standing up.

“Sure, why not.” Damon said as he followed the doctor out of the office.

The web had been spun and the flies had been caught; now it was up to Theo to make sure the web stayed intact.

 ******************************************************************************************************************************

 

Bonnie Bennet was in love with Tonmore University. The dorms were awesome and so were the people but what she loved most about the University was its Occult studies program. When Lorna had taken her on tour of the campus the week before, she had introduced her to Hillary Mason, the University’s occult professor. Bonnie had loved her immediately. Every time Bonnie saw her she felt as if she had found home. She spoke so passionately about witches and magic that it was hard not to love her. Bonnie had known in that moment that she would be studying Occult studies. When Hillary had learned what Bonnie’s last name was, her eyes had lit up immediately. Apparently Bonnie was a descendant of the Salem witches. When Bonnie had asked Hillary whether that made her a witch, Hillary had laughed and told her ‘of course not child.’

Her first day as a student of the University was even better. Lorna had introduced her to the members of the Drama club at lunchtime after their occult studies class. The drama club was thinking about doing a play about a witch and Bonnie had contributed to the conversation with such vast knowledge that the club had voted to make her director. And just like that, she was in the drama club. She could not explain how she knew anything about magic but she thought she might have studied magic before she lost her memories.

After that Lorna had introduced her to her friends Rick, Danny and Sam (Short for Samantha). They had hit off famously and had decided to show their new found friend the most popular joint on campus, ‘The quad’. That’s where they were as they told Bonnie campus stories which were in equal parts both myth and realistic. While she was listening to them, she wondered briefly how Damon’s day going.

 

 *******************************************************************************************************************************

Damon walked into the auditorium designed classroom with no books or any material for that matter. He was dressed in black pants, a white T-shirt and a leather jacket. Just because he was a lecturer, it didn’t mean that he needed to look like one. He walked up to the whiteboard and wrote Damon Salvatore with the white board marker he found on the table. When he turned around he found that some students were looking at him curiously, while the others were messing about with their phones and one guy who was listening to music with his huge headphones. That was about to change.

“My name is Damon Salvatore,” He said heading toward the stairs leading up to the class seats. “If the name did not clue you in, my ancestors were originally from Italy. My surname is pronounced _Sal-va-TO-re_ in Italian,” He continued while making his way to the student still wearing his headphones. “Salvatore is an Italian cognate of the Spanish name ‘Salvador’ which means ‘Saviour’.”

When he reached the student he pulled the headphones off his head and threw them to the front to the class leaving the student bewildered. The rest of the students who were fiddling with their phones stopped assuming that their phones would be thrown across the room too.

As he made his way back to the front of the classroom, he said, “I am here to save you from your appalling lack of Historical knowledge and I am willing to bet that half of you don’t know where you came from or what your names mean. That’s this week’s assignment. Next week each of you will tell us in five minutes where you are from and what your surname means.”

The students groaned their disapproval.

Damon continued on undeterred. “I am also not your friend. My friend calls me a dick so I suggest you idiots believe her. There will be no failing in this class. If anyone one of you fails, I will hack your social media accounts and post your deplorable grades online so that your fake social media friends can laugh at you.” Damon said.

“Hey, you can’t do that,” Said one of the students.

“Unfortunately Dylan McDermott this is not ‘The Practice’, so I’ll do whatever I want so that your social media obsessed brains can learn a thing or two before the semester ends.” Damon replied.

“You’re just bluffing, you can’t do that.” A blonde girl with tattoos on her arms said.

“Another thing, I don’t bluff. So might I suggest Tattoo Blondie that the next time the inkling to get another tattoo comes along, you skip the visit to the tattoo parlour and crack open a History book instead? As I have demonstrated with Dj Wannabe’s headphones, there will be no listening to music in my class. If I can take the time to teach you overgrown babies something, you can take the time to learn something. If any of you feel that you cannot cope with this class I suggest you leave and look for another lecturer you can walk all over. For those of you who decide to stay, you’re going to take whatever I give you and make something better out of it.”

The class was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

“Any questions?” Damon asked.

“What a dick,” a guy in the corner said in a loud whisper.

“I’m glad we understand each other, pale skinny guy in the corner.” Damon said flippantly.

 


	6. The Divide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My grief and yours are not the same. We might miss the same person but we won't grieve the same way. All we can hope for is that our grief doesn't tear us apart because grief is unending, it might subside and we might forget for a while but it will always be there. If it tears us apart we will never find our way back to each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it has taken so long to post another chapter, I have just been so busy. I hope you like this chapter.I worked on it before but I never got the time to post it. I hope in the coming week I can go back to updating everyday. For those of you still with me, Thanks for staying strong.
> 
> XoXo

Caroline Forbes entered the modern complex building and headed straight for the elevators. Once they opened on the 7th floor, she got out and headed straight for the glass door on her right. The name on the door said Hart therapy. Once she was inside she headed straight for the receptionist and looking into her eyes she said,

“My name is Caroline Forbes, I have an appointment with Dr Melissa Hart.”

“Of course Miss Forbes, walk right through.” The receptionist said.

Once Caroline entered the doctor’s office she walked up to the doctor.

“Excuse me, do I know you?” Asked the doctor standing up from her desk.

Caroline looking into her eyes said,

“You remember me, I’ve been coming here for the last three weeks at the same hour.”

“Caroline, it’s so good to see you again.” Dr Hart said motioning for Caroline to sit on the sofa.

Caroline smiled and made her way to the sofa. She sighed as she sat down adjusting herself to get comfortable. This is what she had been reduced to, compelling her own therapy sessions.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Last week we made some good progress, we talked about school and how you’re coping despite what happened with Bonnie. This week why don’t we change gears and talk about your friends. You started coming here three weeks ago and you said that the reason for coming here was because you needed someone to talk to. Do you feel as if you can’t talk to your friends anymore?” asked Dr Hart.

Caroline took a deep breath before she answered.

“To be honest, I don’t know what’s happening anymore. I feel like I didn’t just lose Bonnie but all of them. There are some days that are so bad that I even miss Damon if you can believe it.” Caroline said huffing out a breath.

 

“Why is it weird that you miss Damon?” Melissa asked Caroline.

 

“Well, first you have to understand that Damon is a murderous, psychotic vampire who has no feelings whatsoever. At least that’s what he was when he came to Mystic Falls. Then he fell in love with Elena and as much as I don’t want to admit it, he also saved our lives a couple of times; he’s not that bad anymore. I will never admit it to his face though. So I guess we are frenemies now or we were.” Caroline said taking a deep breath.

 

“I think I understand now, so let’s go back to talking about your other friends.”

 

“Well, there’s Stefan, he’s Damon’s brother. Stefan and I used to be so close before Damon and Bonnie died. He is the one who believed he could save me when I first turned into a vampire, he taught me how to be a vampire,” she says laughing, “It’s so ironic that I am better at it than he is, he’s a bit of a problem drinker. A bloodaholic.” She said fondly.

 

“You seem to like him very much, why can’t you talk to him now?” asked Dr Hart.

“When I lost Bonnie, my best friend whom I love,” she stopped smiling sadly trying to hold back her tears “whom I loved very much, Stefan lost a brother. Stefan lost a guy he’s known his whole life and he is really old so that’s a very long time. Damon and he were finally at a place in their relationship where they weren’t fighting over Elena or trying to kill each other, they were finally ok.” She sighed sadly. “When Damon and Bonnie died he was fine. You have to understand that in our world when people die they usually don’t stay dead. We all had hope that we would find a way to bring them back. Most importantly, Stefan had hope. Alaric and I would send him leads and he would go hunting, always looking for a way to bring them back. Soon enough the dead end leads became too many and somewhere along the way he lost hope. He stopped calling and every time I would call him it would go straight to voicemail. I left message after message giving him my support, telling him that I understood and that we could face all this together but he never called back, not once.

When Enzo and I finally tracked him down I was so mad at him. I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him. To some extent, I understand why he did it. We reminded him of his brother and he thought that it was the only way for him to move on. On the other hand, I am in equal parts mad and sad. I am angry because he gave up, not just on Damon but on my best friend as well. I thought he was better than that, he’s the one who gave me hope when I had given up when I first turned, how dare he not do the same. I am angry at him because he left me to deal with this situation alone; he was supposed to be there for me.” Caroline vented breathing heavily. “But amid all that anger I am sad that he lost his brother but I am sadder that he didn’t need me anymore. I am sad that he didn’t think I was important enough to hang on to.” Caroline said her voice breaking, “I am so sad that he couldn’t see how much I love him.” She finished tears streaming down her face as she tried frantically to wipe them away with her shirt sleeve.

Dr Hart stood up from her chair and brought the tissues closer to Caroline and sat back down.

 

“Thank you,” Caroline mumbled as she wiped her face and nose with the tissues. Once she had settled down she continued, “so no, I can’t talk to Stefan. He’s made it pretty clear he doesn't care about my problems.”

 

“What about the others?” Dr Hart asked gently

 

“There’s Matt, other than Elena and Tyler, Matt is my oldest friend. He is also my ex which is a story for another day. Matt has always been the anchor to my humanity. When everything else changes, it is almost a guarantee that Matt will remain the same. He’s the only non-supernatural being left in our circle and he’s so unbelievably human. When you’re a vampire, death and ultimately murder is not something you’re revolted by or afraid of, these things tend to become second nature when you’re dealing with things in the supernatural world. Every time we come up with a plan to go after bad guys someone always ends up dead and Matt is always the guy in the group who tells us how wrong that is. We probably wouldn’t be half decent people if Matt wasn’t there to remind us of what we once were before we became vampires. I’m not saying it’s been easy but we’ve gotten through some tough situations together. That said, I think Matt has been drifting away slowly and it all begun once he found out all his friends were supernatural. I don’t think he’s ever been able to accept it. He might act like we are all ok but we’re not. Every time someone dies Matt drifts a little bit further away. He would always come to our aid when we asked but you could tell he was only doing it because we asked. Bonnie’s death was the final straw for Matt. Since the travellers made Mystic Falls a supernatural no go zone Matt hasn’t left its borders once. He still picks my calls and he still listens but he never comes to see me even though he knows I can’t visit him. He’s even joined this humans’ safety group to protect the humans of Mystic Falls. Matt is slowly building a wall around himself and he’s shutting us out because we’re not human. He’s drawing a line in the sand and he’s daring us to cross it. In Matt’s mind we don’t belong in Mystic Falls even though it’s where we all grew up because we’re vampires. To Matt we are no longer his friends, we are the enemy. I can’t talk to Matt because he silently blames us for everything bad that’s ever happened.” She took a deep breath and looked at Dr Hart sadly.

 

“Then there’s Elena Gilbert who’s my best friend and roommate,” she says laughing “She was also Bonnie’s best friend and Damon’s girlfriend. When we were kids Elena, Bonnie and I would have sleepovers and we would spend the whole night talking about how our weddings would be and how many kids we’d have. Those dreams went down the toilet the moment I turned into vampire but I still had hope for Elena and Bonnie. When Elena turned we combined all our efforts in the hope that Bonnie would one day have everything we had talked about.  Now we don’t even have that.” She said laughing sadly. “Through it all, Elena and I have remained friends but I fear that even that isn't going to remain the same. In Elena’s case, I am the one who has been avoiding her. We share the same dorm room and I barely see her anymore and I like it that way. She didn't do anything wrong but I am beginning to resent her. Don’t get me wrong, I love that girl to bits but if my resentment keeps growing, my love for her is going to be in serious jeopardy. I resent her because she erased her memories of Damon. Instead of grieving like the rest of us, she decided that she couldn't handle it. She cheated. People are supposed to grieve. We are supposed to get angry and then go into denial, and then learn how to cope and then move on. What she did was selfish.” She said a single tear sliding down her cheek. “I feel so guilty that I feel that way but I do. What Elena did was selfish because she put her grief above everyone else’s. Stefan lost Damon too, I understand that it’s not in the same way but Stefan is coping even if it’s by shutting me and everyone else out. Jeremy lost Bonnie and even though he’s been an alcoholic manslut and a douchebag, he’s dealing. Like seriously, I am coping by compelling my own therapy sessions why can’t she find a way to deal? I know that Elena still grieves for Bonnie but I feel as if it was diminished somehow when she lost her memories of Damon. I know it’s unfair of me to feel this way about her but I do. Among all my friends she’s the only one not avoiding me but I can’t talk to her either. She doesn't remember how Damon was sometimes good and she won’t understand when I tell her that sometimes when I’m feeling snarky I miss him because all she can remember about Damon is that he was a monster who killed Jeremy. She won’t remember that he stayed behind on that island to look for Bonnie. So instead of talking to her, I have been avoiding her because every time I am in a room with her, I find myself silently judging her.” She sighed looking forlornly at the wall painting.

 

“Then there’s Tyler, who used to be my boyfriend. We broke up because of a lot of things including him leaving me to go fight Klaus but we can never get back together again because I slept with Klaus, his nemesis.” she said giving Dr Hart a sarcastic smile. “Tyler is kind of into Liv now which is fine except for the fact that she’s kind of replaced Bonnie as our go to guide for magic which is wrong on so many levels. Tyler also came back from the other side as a human but he always runs the risk of killing someone and turning into a werewolf again so he doesn't want to hang around the killing machines much anymore, that means me. He had to pick a side and he chose hers. Ultimately he and I are fine when we’re all on the same side but the moment we go against the wonder twins all bets are off. It’s like he’s forgotten that I was his friend first before I became his girlfriend.” Caroline laughed shaking her head.

 

“This is so funny because this is not the first time any of us have lost someone. Stefan lost Lexi and Zach, I lost my father, Tyler lost his parents, Matt lost Vicki, heck Elena and Jeremy literally lost their whole family and we have all died at some point. Even after all that we still remained friends, so why is this loss different? It’s like we are all pretending that we are coping with the loss of Bonnie and Damon when in reality we are just hiding and pushing each other away. Does it mean that every time we lost someone we all drifted apart a little bit and not just Matt. Did we all drift apart and just didn’t notice? Or is it just that we’ve stopped fighting for each other? Were Bonnie and Damon the last straw? I need to figure this out because if this keeps up we won’t be able to come back from this and still be friends.

 

“I feel so lonely right now,” She sighed sadly wiping away a single tear. “I feel as if I am the only one still fighting. How am I supposed to win this war if my battalion has already given up? I’m beginning to wonder whether the fight is worth it at all. That’s the biggest tragedy here, because I never give up and yet slowly by slowly I am.” Caroline finished wiping away the tears that were coming faster now.

Dr Hart let her sob and didn't say a word.

 

After a while, there was a buzzing sound signalling the end of the session. Caroline wiped her face clean and picked up her bag off the floor and stopped in front of the doctor.

“I was never here; you will remember me only when I tell you to but not before.” Caroline said looking into the doctor’s eyes.

“Who are you?” Dr Hart said as Caroline turned to leave the room. She repeated the process with the receptionist and left.


	7. Sleeping With Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world has moved on, people go about their business as if I did not lose the best thing that ever happened to me, my loss is irrelevant on the scales of their lives. Let them move on, let them forget but on this one night, every year, I wait for my love to come back to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been too long, sorry. 
> 
> Just a quick remainder, in case you haven't noticed, I tend to flesh out my characters because they matter. Bear with me.
> 
> Having said that, I truly hope you enjoy it.
> 
> XoXo

It was his birthday.

He was cooking, he had always been a good cook, in another life he would have probably been a chef. He was cooking her favorite foods. The grilled tuna was ready and just waiting in the oven to be placed on a plate. The spaghetti was just about to be ready and he had a bottle of her favorite wine on ice. On this one night every year, he wasn't afraid of anything. He always left the gate open for her, in same way, he was afraid that if she found it locked she wouldn't come in. On this one night, he pretended to be a normal human not tormented by the demons of the night.

There was a knock at the door. Theo wiped his hands on the checked black and white apron he was wearing over his pressed dark blue slacks and crisp cotton white shirt. He had a bounce in his walk as he went to open the door. She was standing outside his door looking as gorgeous as ever. He stared at the vision she created in the little black dress, paired with silver sandals and accessorized with silver earrings and a choker. Her hair was piled on top of her head exposing her delicate neck.

“Stunning.” Theo thought

“Are you going to stand there staring at me all night or are you going to invite me in?” She asked with a mischievous smile.

Theo stepped aside and let her walk through. Once he closed the door, he turned around as she embraced him. He hugged her back tightly.

“I don’t think you understand the concept of a birthday. Normally when it’s your birthday, you let people cook for you, you don’t cook for them.” She said softly against his throat.

Theo smiled as he pressed his nose against her neck. He sighed deeply at the lavender scent he could smell on her. He pressed her closer and dug his head deeper into the crook of her neck.

“It might have been your plan all along, but are we going to stand in front of the door while you squeeze the air out of me?” She asked looking up at the ceiling smiling softly.

Theo laughed.

“Give me a minute,” he mumbled holding her even tighter “I really missed you.”

She sighed and hugged him back.

“Ok, that’s enough Mr. Hugs,” she said after a while. “It smells too good in here and I am hungry.” She said pleadingly.

“Ok ok, but only because you’re hungry.”

He let her go and put her small hand in his as he led her into the kitchen.  He pulled out a chair for her at the small dining table in the kitchen and pushed it back in once she had sat down.

“Dinner will be ready in a minute; in the meantime, would you care for some wine?” Theo asked walking back to the kitchen counter.

“I thought you’d never ask.” She said placing her silver purse on the table.

Theo brought out two glasses of wine and poured the rich red liquid into each of the glasses. He handed one of the glasses to her and watched as she took a small sip. He felt his heart expand and his hands begin to shake when he saw the undulated pleasure that came over her face. Theo put his glass down before he broke it. He leaned down and kissed her. It was a brief touch of lips but to him it was heaven.

“As much as I love kissing you babe, I’m afraid if we start we won’t be able to stop and all the food you prepared will go to waste.” She said her lips still pressed against his.

“You are right as always,” He said still not moving a muscle. He felt her smile against his lips. He stayed with his lips pressed against hers for about 30 seconds before he decided he would really have to move to put together that romantic dinner he had planned.

“How was your day?” He asked taking out plates from the cupboard.

“It was so-so,” She replied. “I still haven’t decided what major I want to focus on and I feel like my parents are trying to push me towards medicine and that’s something I definitely do not want to do.”

“Babe, you need to stop worrying about what your parents want you to do. You are intelligent and you can do whatever it is you want to do, and just in case you don’t know this, your parents will love you no matter what subject you choose on doing.” Theo said placing the grilled tuna on the two plates on the table.

“Well, it doesn’t feel that way,” She said eyeing the tuna appreciatively.

“What major do you think I should take?” She asked

Theo walked back to the table with the drained spaghetti; he started piling it onto the plates as he smiled at her.

“Oh no you don’t,” he said shaking his head. “you my dear need to make that decision for yourself or else I’ll be just as bad as your parents.”

“You can never be as bad as my parents, which is why I love you,” She said smiling at him.

He leaned in and kissed her.

“I love you too,” he said sincerely. “Now, young lady dig in.”

“Yes sir,” she said as she kissed him before picking up her fork ready to eat.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

He couldn’t get enough of her she was intoxicating. They were on the sofa in the living room, where they had ended up after dinner. They were supposed to be watching a movie but clearly that was not going to happen.

He could kiss her forever, her mouth was heavenly. He wanted more. He ran the tip of his tongue along hers and she responded by opening her mouth for him. He felt as if he was going to explode. He pushed back against her and deepened the kiss as she went willingly. He was so hard. He could feel her hands running through his hair and he moaned into her mouth. He began caressing her body, his hands moving from her shoulders to her hips. He loved how she felt even over all the clothes but he wanted more. He kissed her neck and moaned when she shivered. He moved and kissed the spot right below her right ear and then her left ear. He then travelled lower and bit gently into her neck.

She moaned softly.

He moved again and kissed the tops of her breasts over her dress.

“Take it off,” He whispered hoarsely.

“Take it off for me,” She whispered back.

He sat up and pulled her up with him. He put his hands on her back and traced the zip of her dress from the top of her ass to the bottom of her neck. He pulled the sip down slowly, the sound the only other sound other than their hard breathing. He pulled off the dress first from her left should then her right.

“You’re so beautiful.” he whispered pressing his lips on her chest. He pulled the dress down slowly until the tops of her breasts were exposed. He kissed both of them each at a time.

“Oh babe,” she said putting her hands on either side of his hips.

He pulled the dress down again this time exposing her bra cad breasts. He unclasped her bra and sucked in his breath as he stared at her exposed hardened nipples.

He lowered his mouth and licked at her rosy left bud. He kept licking until he sucked it into his mouth.

“ah,” She moaned.

Her hands were now on his head while her fingers ran through his hair. He was sucking her right nipple while his hand rubbed her left nipple. She removed her fingers from his hair and moved her hands under his shirt.

“I want you.” She whispered.

Spurred by the thought of getting more, Theo pushed the dress off of her completely. She lifted her hips gently as he pulled it off. Once it had dropped to the floor, Theo was left staring at her clad only in a skimpy black thong. He was startled out of his body worship when he realized she was trying to push his hands out of his shirt. Once the shirt had been discarded she ran her hands up and down his chest. They were both kneeling on the sofa now facing each other directly. He kissed her crushing her to him. He felt her hands squeeze between their bodies to the buckle of his belt, soon it too was on the floor. He could hear the buttons of his trousers pop open as she undid them. he heard the sound of his zipper and then all thought left his brain as her hand encircled his length.

“Oh,” He moaned involuntarily

She freed him from his boxers and rubbed his length up and down. When he could finally move he took her head in his hands and kissed her while she kept touching him.

He wanted more.

He stood abruptly in front of the couch and in one swift movement he took off both his boxers and trousers. He pulled her towards him and he pulled down her thong roughly. He then lifted her off the couch and she put her legs around him. There was no going back now.

Once he got to the bedroom he fell forwards onto the bed pinning her down under him. he settled between her legs and she spread them wider to accommodate him. He kissed her as he rubbed her left thigh. He rubbed her slowly moving up each time he rubbed. He kissed her harder when she moaned in reaction to his hand reaching the top of her thigh. He moved and touched her centre as she spread even wider and moaned into his mouth.

He could feel pre-come leaking off the top of his dick but he didn’t care. He rubbed her gently until she was writhing. He dipped a finger into her as he positioned his thumb to rub her clit. She was moaning louder now.

“Oh she’s so wet for me,” he thought as he put another finger in her and established a steady rhythm.

“Oh God baby,” she moaned as she reached between them to take his engorged manhood in her hand. She rubbed him in the same steady rhythm his fingers were moving in and out of her body. he inserted another finger and picked up the tempo. So did her hand. He wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer now.

He removed his fingers and knelt between her knees. She bent her knees as he lifted up her hips using her buttocks. She stopped rubbing him and put her hands on either side of keep her balance. She watched as he positioned his dick at her entrance and pushed in. Once he was deep in her he leaned down and kissed her.

“Baby, please move.” She said.

He pushed out and pushed back in more forcefully.

“Oh God, just like that,” She said.

He did it again until he set a pace.

“You are so wet for me; I could do this all night.” He moaned.

“Harder baby,” She said moaning unintelligibly.

He increased the pace until the only sound that could be heard in the room other than their moaning was the slapping of their bodies.

“Oh baby,” He moaned

“Yes, Baby” She practically yelled.

He pushed in even harder. He was going so fast now, he was sure none of them was going to hold out much longer.

He was close.

“Oh baby, I’m gonna…” he moaned.

“Do it baby.” she moaned.

So he did and so did she.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

He was staring at the ceiling.

He could hear her breathing softly on the other side of the bed. He looked at his bedside clock.

11.30pm.

He had 30 minutes before she disappeared again until his next birthday.

His sweet sweet Kerry.

This was the only way he knew how to remember her. This is how he coped on his birthday every year.

He had hired this Kerry-look-a-like four years ago after her death. He had found her by accident really. At the insistence of his mother he had tried to get onto an online dating site. Once he had opened the page a pop-up had shown up on his screen advertising about a girlfriend for hire. The girl in the advert had looked so much like Kerry, his heart had ached. It had taken a lot of phone calls but he had finally gotten her. Once he had signed a contract with her, he had told everything he needed to know about Kerry and then proceeded to write her a script of the best day he ever shared with Kerry.  A night they had shared while they were still dating and before he got it into Tonmore University. Kerry and he had broken up a month after that day but remained friends until she died at the hands of Stefan.

Now every year since he met fake Kerry, she showed up at door his door smelling and looking like Kerry and every year they re-created the best memory he had of Kerry. Fake Kerry never deviated from the script and neither did he. it was easier that way.

It was creepy, but he didn't care because for one night a year he got his Kerry back.


	8. Addicts, Hackers & Witches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What brings perfect strangers together? I don’t know about you, but in my opinion fear and lies are strong contenders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> XoXo

He opened his eyes slowly. He sat up in bed and looked around his room. She was gone. It should come as no surprise to him, those were the terms of their agreement but sometimes he did feel a bit sad when he didn’t wake up beside her. It was ridiculous of course but the heart feels how it wants. There was never any goodbye that was also in their contract. He sighed looking at his bedside clock.

9.30 am.

He got out of bed and looked for his jogging pants. He threw them on and went into the kitchen in search of coffee. There was coffee brewing, the dishes from last night were gone and his kitchen was spotless. This was definitely not part of their agreement.

As he reached for a cup of coffee he heard the toaster beep. When he turned around he found two slices of toasted of bread waiting to be on a plate.

“I really hope she’s still not here.” Theo thought.

Once he was sure he could not hear any sound coming from any room in his house, he poured himself a cup of coffee and put the toast on a plate and headed to his sitting room. When he got there he found Viral waiting patiently on his screen.

“Took you long enough,” Viral said as way of greeting.

“You did this?” Theo asked with toast still in his mouth.

“Yeah, who did you think it was? Your once a year whore?” Viral asked.

Theo ignored him.

“That doesn’t explain my clean dishes.” Theo said instead.

“A guy owed me a favour.”

“There was someone inside my house?”

“I was watching him the whole time.” Viral replied. “Plus your girlfriend let him anyway. On that note, how was your birthday?”

“That’s none of your business,” Theo said in a tight voice.

“Dude, whatever that is, it is not healthy. In fact I think you’re becoming an addict”

“Viral we don’t discuss our sex lives, let’s keep it that way.”

“I’m just saying dude…”

“Stop,” Theo shouted, cutting Viral off.

Viral just stared at Theo and stopped talking. Theo wasn’t ready to hear what he had to say, so he dropped it.

“I’ve got news about Stefan,” Viral said instead. “There’s some good news and bad news.”

“Let’s hear the bad news first.” Theo said taking a sip of coffee.

“Well, Stefan was looking for his brother. He went all the way to Oregon as far as I know but he hit a dead end. The car he drove there shows him stopping in the middle of nowhere. I looked for any cameras in the area but couldn’t find any visuals. He stayed there for about 30 minutes. I looked up the spot he was at but there is nothing there, no buildings, houses or any structure for that matter. He must have sat in his car all that time. I don’t know. He popped up in Georgia, where he rented a house and worked as a mechanic. It’s no surprise his boss was found in the woods. The corner reported the death was caused by an animal attack. Note to self, do not employ a vampire.”

“What’s the good news?” Theo asked.

“He seems to have stopped looking for his brother. He went back home, or rather a town a mile away from his big ass family home, which doesn’t make sense at all.”

“What doesn’t make sense about that?”

Well the boarding house has been in the Salvatore family since the early 90’s, they’ve been living there ever since the old Salvatore house was abandoned. No one lives there except him and his brother. Wouldn’t it make more sense if he just went home, why rent out another house just a mile from where you own a house?”

“I am more surprised that he has a home.” Theo said.

“Well, even monsters have to live somewhere.”

“Are you certain, he has stopped looking for his brother?”

“You can never be sure about this guy. He’s just lurking around town these days but I am sure the moment Damon’s name appears anywhere he will be on his track again.”

“We need to make sure that never happens.”

“I know that, what do you think I am doing? Those students at Tonmore sure have a crush on this guy.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Do you know how many photos I have had to delete from every social media site known to man? All photos tagged under #Mr.Smoldertore. The least Mr Smoldertore could do is not drive all the girls he’s crazy. Speaking of Mr. Smoldertore, how is he doing?”

“Oh, he’s doing just fine.” Theo said an involuntary smiling appearing on his face.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“It might come as a shock to you young people but war is not a good thing.” Damon said to his History class. “When I asked you idiots to write a paper on war, I did not expect you to write ‘an ode to war’.” He picked up the term papers he had placed on the table and threw then into the trashcan in the corner of the room. The whole class groaned.

“On this mistake, I take full responsibility because it seems I expected illiterate babies to do more that look at Wikipedia and come up with better papers. It seems I was unclear about my expectations so listen to me very carefully Forrest Gumps, I will not repeat this. The next paper I read that is written like the crap you gave me is going to be sent to every online site in America. If you have any doubts just ask D McFools in the corner over there and his pal F McIdiot in the centre and all the others.” Damon said pointing out each of the students he was talking about.

25 students from Damon’s class had had the misfortune of learning about their grades online. They had become the laughing stocks of the whole school for a month. No one had ever gotten a grade below C ever since that first quiz.

“This time I will go a step further and send your deplorable papers to Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman. Trust me I will laugh right along with the rest of America as Jimmy discusses your papers under the topic ‘What a load of crap’. If we are lucky SNL might even do a skit about it and call it ‘Behold, the brain of Idiot Foolish Esquire’. Listen carefully children.” He said sitting on the teacher’s table.

“This is what you should remember when writing your papers, there is always more than one side to every story. Find those sides. We all know the side that the governments and History tells us, find the other side. You live in a generation that has easy access to information and yet you are the generation that use it for all the wrong reasons. You can find a cat talking in Japanese but you can’t find out how Napoleon Bonaparte died if it hit you in the face. There are other sources of information other than Wikipedia, if you can find them you are on the right track. Read books written by people who lived through the wars, understand their side of the story and stop taking that 8 year old who hides behind a blog seriously. Talk to your grandparents if you have any and if you don’t visit the old people’s home four blocks from here. Here’s a tip, focus on a single family, person or child and use their story as the case study for your paper. Write their story and contrast it with what you know about whatever war you’re writing about.

If you cannot read to save your life, watch documentaries about war but for God’s sake learn something, it’s not that hard. The world you live in wasn’t always this good, generations before you fought so that you could live freely today. Do not disrespect them by telling their story incompetently. There will be no excuses that will save you from this assignment. If you want to understand the world you are living in, you need to understand your History.

You have two weeks to complete this paper. This will be your second quiz before mid-semester break. To make it easier, let’s focus on one war at a time. Focus this paper on World War one, there might not be many people alive who you can talk to but there are certainly books written on the same. I expect to be surprised. Do not disappoint me. That’s it for the class today, go start working on your papers.” He finished walking out of the class.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Hey you?” Bonnie asked hugging Damon

“Hey, are you ready?” He asked as he hugged her back.

“Yeah, but first this is Hilary Mason she’s my occult professor.” Bonnie said gesturing behind her to a tall blonde woman.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Damon Salvatore.” He said shaking her hand.

“Mr. Salvatore, it is nice to meet you, I have heard a lot about the History teacher who puts the fear of God in his students.” said Professor Mason smiling.

“Then I must be doing something right.” Damon replied winking at the professor.

“So where are you going off to with my favourite student?”

“Well, Damon here insists he might have found a house and we are going to check it out.” Bonnie said.

“Not satisfied with the teacher’s quarters Mr Salvatore?” Hilary asked.

“They are good; I just want to live somewhere that my students can’t get to me.” Damon said mischievously.

“I see you are already receiving death threats then, I understand, it’s the same reason I left. The students did not want a witch among them.” Hilary said as they all laughed. “Have fun you two. it was nice to meet you Mr Salvatore. See you in class on Monday Miss Bennet. She said walking away.

“Will do Professor Mason.” said Bonnie.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Hilary Mason was no fool.

From the moment she had met Bonnie Bennet, she had known that she was Sheila Bennet’s granddaughter. Hilary had been a little girl when she had met Sheila during the civil rights movement. Sheila had been a fantastic orator and when she spoke people listened. Sheila had inspire Hilary and when Hilary had found out that Sheila was teaching at Whitmore she had made an effort to visit her and tell her how much she had inspired her. She had seen Bonnie’s picture on her grandmother’s desk when she had visited her. That had also been three weeks before Sheila had died.  

“My granddaughter,” Sheila had said when she had caught Hilary staring at the picture. “She has yet to understand the power she possesses but she will soon enough.”

Bonnie Bennet was a Bennet witch. The Bennet witches were powerful but they were well known for their association with vampires. Vampire business was dangerous, witches always ended up dead.

From what she had heard from the witch grapevine, Sheila had exhausted herself trying to undo a spell cast by her ancestor Emily Bennet. Emily had cast that spell to trap 27 vampires under the Mystic Falls church. It was unclear why Sheila would help in reversing such a spell but she was sure it involved vampires.

“Bennets and their vampires,” Hilary thought shaking her head as she dug into her purse looking for her house keys. She reached for the door to the apartment building and took the stairs to the third floor apartment.

What had happened to the Bennet family was tragedy. Covens around the world taught their young ones about the consequences of conspiring with vampires by using the stories from the Bennet family tree. If you traced any Bennet through the generations, you would find that they were more often than not killed by or indirectly by vampires.

The last she had heard of Bonnie was that she had become the anchor to the ‘other side’. It was not long after that the other side was destroyed. It had come as a shock to Hilary Mason to see Bonnie at Tonmore University. Bonnie should have disappeared with it. Clearly that was not the case if Bonnie was walking around Tonmore University.

‘What happened to you Bonnie Bennet?’ Hilary thought as she closed the door to her house. She dropped her bag on the table and sat down in the chair nearest the door.

Hilary didn’t have all the answers, yet but it was clear Dr Theodore Caldwell knew something. He is the one after all who brought Bonnie to Tonmore. It was clear he was hiding something, he had begun by lying about where she came from which was as sure as hell not Trenton.

‘The best thing to do at this point would be to ask him about it’ Hilary thought.

She sat in the same spot for 30 minutes before she finally made a decision and got up to leave.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“I still can’t figure out why Bonnie was with Damon, but I did find something interesting.” Viral was saying to Theo.

“What’s that?” Theo asked from his spot on the sofa. He had long finished his breakfast and was listening intently to what Viral was telling him.

“I found a video that shows Stefan killing Bonnie’s dad, who was the mayor of Mystic Falls, in front of a crowd of people. If he could do that to her dad, it probably explains what she’s doing with Damon. He might be protecting her.”

“You have got to be kidding. If he did that, he should be in jail by now.” Theo said unbelievingly.

“That’s what is confusing about the video, normally when someone is murdered in front of you, the first thing you do is run or hide and in the case of a crowd what happens is people panic and start creaming or running but in this case none of that happened.” Viral said.

“It’s impossible to control a crowd of people, there must have been a few people who ran or screamed.” Theo said

“Dude, watch the video yourself.” Viral said.

Theo watched a grainy video appeared on his screen. There was a time stamp and a date at the top left hand corner of the screen which meant the footage was lifted from a CCTV camera. He leaned forward as he watched Stefan appear on the podium and stand next to a black man who had been addressing the crowd before the interruption. Theo watched as Stefan took the black man’s place on the podium and addressed the crowd. Stefan was gesturing as he spoke to the crowd that could be seen talking among themselves. Stefan must have said something to the crowd because suddenly everyone stopped moving. The whole crowd stood there immobile. Stefan then walked up to the mayor and stood behind him. Theo watched as Stefan raised his hand and slit the man’s throat. Still no one moved. There was no running, the crowd just stood there and watched. He watched as Bonnie’s father fell to the ground. No one approached him; no one came to his rescue. Everyone just stood there like statues. Stefan walked back to the microphone and started addressing the people as if nothing had happened.

“Stop it; I don’t want to watch it anymore.” Theo said rubbing his hands across his face. “What kind of monster is he? Why didn’t anyone do anything?”

“I am just as confused as you, but when I watched it, it felt too much like the Tennessee incident all over again, so I sent someone to ask a few questions. Get this, everyone knows the mayor is dead but they can’t explain how he died.”

“Jesus Christ.” Theo said with passion.

“As much as I would like to talk this through with you, we have to cut this short. You have a visitor. I think it’s that occult professor; she just parked outside your gate. I didn’t know you guys were friends.” Viral said.

“We’re not,” Theo said “we’ve never said more than two words to each other. Do I need to switch you off or something?”

“She can’t see me dude, don’t you remember?”

“Ok stay, this probably won’t take long.’

The whole house was soon filled with a buzzing sound. Theo walked up to his door and pressed the button on his intercom.

“Professor Mason, I had no idea you were dropping by.” Theo said

“Hello, Dr Caldwell, I hope this is not a bad time. Can I please come in?”

“Sure,” Theo said pressing a button that opened the gate. He watched through the small screen below the intercom as she drove through the gate. He watched her walk up to his front door and opened it and let her in.

“What bring s you to my side of town?” Theo asked closing the door.

Professor Mason walked into the house and let the young doctor lead her into the living room. she had no time for small talk so she cut to the chase.

“Dr Caldwell, I’d like to explain to me why you’re lying about Bonnie Bennet because we both know she’s from Mystic falls and not Trenton.”

Theo stood there staring at the professor in utter shock.

 


	9. Salvatore Manor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home is a place where comfort, pride, security and love reside. Without those things a house can never be a home, it does not matter whether the house was built by angels or demons, if none of those things exist there, that house will never be a home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Chapter to apologize for my tardiness in delivering Chapter 8.
> 
> XoXo

“Alright teacher’s pet, we need to get out of here, the real estate agent only has an hour.”

“Fine, as long as you apologize for calling me teacher’s pet.” Bonnie said.

“Absolutely not, it is true.” Damon said.

“Ok then, have fun house shopping alone,” she said sweetly walking away.

“Where are you going? Oh come on Bonnie, you don’t even know which teacher I’m talking about. How do you know I’m not talking about me?” Bonnie continued walking ignoring him. “Ok fine, I’m sorry I called you teacher’s pet. You were just being yourself, always trying to do the right thing because it is in your DNA.” Damon said.

Bonnie turned around and started walking back towards him.

“Ok fine, I’ll take it. So where are we going?” Bonnie asked walking beside him

“There is a house I am really interested in buying.” Damon said.

“You’re buying a house?” Bonnie asked incredulously “I just thought you were renting.”

“It’s a good deal and the bank downtown offers a great mortgage plan for people who work for Tonmore University.” Damon said.

“Ha.” Bonnie said.

“What?”

“Nothing, it just looks to me like you’re settling down. Stopped being suspicious of Dr Caldwell I see.” Bonnie said.

“How is a house settling down?” Damon asked “It’s just a place to live, I could just as easily sell it.”

Whatever you say Damon, whatever you say.” Bonnie said smiling.

“Oh shut up!” Damon said.

Bonnie laughed all the way to the real estate office.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

The neighbourhood was old, which is the only reason Damon had chosen it. In some weird way, this deserted neighbourhood felt as old as he felt. It was absurd, because he was 25 years old but sometime he felt older. Clara, the real estate agent had said the neighbourhood dated back to the 1900’s when the town of Staton was first founded. This neighbourhood had been the first area of settlement when people had started flowing into town. Things had changed over time, now this neighbourhood was deserted. No one had lived in for more than 60 years. No one knew why and if there was a tragic tale to be told, it had been lost over time. Damon had done his own research of the neighbourhood before he called Clara. It had once been the crown jewel of the aristocrats who had lived there. In his mind, he could see the glory that this neighbourhood had once been even as he looked at the peeling paint and the cracked pavements. He could see its glory written in the walls that still stood tall even without care, he could see its glory in the antique windows that most of the houses on the street had, he could see it in the brass handles of the doors and in the cracked road they were now driving on. Back in the day, it was hard to find any paved roads especially in neighbourhoods but this one was paved. Not most people would know that but he did, so he appreciated it.

“It might not look it, but these houses have firm foundations.” Clara said nervously.

Damon believed her but Bonnie did not.

“Yes, it definitely does not look it.” Bonnie said from the back seat of Clara’s car.

Clara remained silent and kept her eyes ahead. she was taking them to the house at the end of the street. Even from at the entrance of the neighbourhood, you could see it, it was enormous even from a distance.

“How many houses are on this street?” Damon asked from the front seat.

“Ten including the one we are seeing today. No one has lived here for a while though.” She said eyeing Damon sideways.

“Is there a ghost story we should know about?” Bonnie asked sceptically.

“No, there are no horror stories to tell. People just prefer to buy modern houses, that’s all and there are so many now. Clara said hurriedly.

“Why hasn’t anyone developed this part of town? It seems ridiculous that the neighbourhood just across the highway is developed but not this side.” Damon said.

“I actually never thought about it.” Clara said.

It was not going to help her sale if she scared her buyers. She was new at this job, which is why the real estate firm had given her the ‘Ghost Town’ as it was called by the locals. No one wanted this beat because it was unlikely anyone was going to buy property on this land. As the office rookie, there was nothing she could do about the beat she was given so she’d have to work with it. She needed this sale.

“It looks creepy.” Bonnie said referring to the whole neighbourhood and the house in front of them.

“It’s not creepy Bonnie, it just has a story to tell.” Damon countered.

“I don’t see it.” Bonnie said.

Damon sighed. Maybe it was his love for History but he could tell that this little neighbourhood had seen a lot in its time. If the cracked pavements could talk they would spin a tale worth of the New York’s bestseller’s list.

Clara stopped the car in front of the entrance to the large house. They all filed out of her little hatchback, it was a 1988 Pontiac Firefly and it had seen better days. She really needed this sale.

Just like the houses on this street, the paint on the enormous house was peeling off as well.

“This used to be the Mayor’s house back in 1912, so it’s the biggest property on this street. It has enough land to fit a swimming pool and two car garages. Eventually, the property was turned into a boarding house when the mayor died.”

Bonnie could see for herself how big the property was. The front yard alone was big enough to fit a helipad. What should have been green manicured lawns was tall weed and grass. It was unkempt and Bonnie would not be shocked if a snake or 100 came out to attack them.

Thankfully they reached the front door without needing to call an ambulance. As Clara rummaged through her purse for the keys Bonnie stared with disdain at the huge knocker on the door.

‘Who even puts knockers on doors anymore?’ Bonnie asked herself

“Stop glaring at the door Bonnie,” Damon said from behind her.

Bonnie turned to roll her eyes at him but said nothing.

Finally Clara found the keys and opened the huge door. Its hinges groaned loudly that Bonnie was soon convinced that the people on other side of town had heard it. Once she stepped into the house’s foyer, she was astounded by the sheer enormity of the house.

“This house is huge.” Bonnie exclaimed.

“I know,” Clara said, “I can’t even begin to imagine how they must have cleaned it back in the day.”

When Clara realized what she had said, her whole face turned crimson.

“Which is something I should not have said to someone who’s about to buy the house.” She said ruefully.

“It’s ok; I’d like to tour the rest of the house, if you don’t mind.” Damon said amused.

Bonnie just looked at Damon bewildered but followed him as Clara led them to through the house. They started in the kitchen which was big was big enough to host a small feast, they moved upstairs to look at 8 bedrooms which all had their own bathrooms and the other five which shared the two bathrooms at either end of the hall. Clara then brought them into the den, then to the dining room which could fit two of Bonnie’s dorm rooms and then they proceeded to a large airy room with a fireplace that Clara suspected had been used as a library. The library was just next to a small study room which in 1912 had been intended to be the Mayor’s office. They ended the tour of the house on the back porch that overlooked the backyard. The backyard was staggering. It was big enough two fit two football fields.

“Oh my God, look at this forest.” Bonnie said looking at the backyard. Just like the front yard the back yard was just as overgrown. In Bonnie’s opinion, the backyard was a small Brazilian rain forest. She would bet anyone that there were about 45 different species hiding in that grass.

“We are not walking through that.” Bonnie said pointing at the tall weeds.

Clara silently agreed with Bonnie, commission or no commission she did not want to find out what was hiding in that grass.

“In that case, here ends the tour, should I give you a minute to think about it?” She asked expectantly.

“Sure, we’ll meet you in there.” Damon said,

Once Clara was out of earshot, Bonnie turned on Damon.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“What? It’s a huge house for half the price because no one will buy it anyway.” Damon answered.

“Are you blind, there is a reason people are not buying it, it might have something to do with the wilderness in the back yard.”

“Bonnie Bennet, you lack vision. This house is quite elegant. With a little work, this could really be magnificent.” Damon said dreamy eyed.

“What are you going to do with 13 bedrooms, sleep in one each day?” Bonnie asked still not convinced of Damon’s sanity.

“I don’t know, I’ll figure it out.” Damon said shrugging.

“What’s really going on here Damon? I’m not buying this elegant house routine. Why do you really want the house?” Bonnie asked as she looked at him

Damon continued staring at the overgrown grass in the backyard and didn’t reply immediately.

“It’s the house,” He finally said, “It reminds me of something that I can’t put my finger on.”

“What do you mean, it reminds you of something, are you getting your memories back?” Bonnie asked.

“No, nothing like that, I just feel like I have lived in a place like this before. It might sound ridiculous but this gigantic house reminds me of home, I don’t even know where that is but I figure it must be something like this.” Damon said still staring at the grass.

Bonnie looked at him and said nothing.

“You and I have nothing Bonnie, we do not know where we are from, we have no family and no known addresses. It’s a strange feeling knowing that you have nothing that is yours. This house, with all its cobweb covered walls feels like home to me. Its huge and I will probably never use half the rooms in this place but it will be something that I own. I will have to work for it but I want everything here to be as a result of my hard work. Does that make sense?” Damon asked finally turning to Bonnie.

“I’m just shocked that you have feelings.” Bonnie said smiling

“Rude.” Damon said crossing his arms across his chest.

“Ok, if you want this crazy-ass house, you can have it.” Bonnie said finally.

“Well, it doesn’t just belong to me,” Damon said “If I buy this house you own it too, so pick a room.”

“What?” Bonnie asked looking at him in shock

“I know, I know, you want to experience college and sleep in a dorm room. I just wanted you to know you have a home, even with this mini forest in the back yard.”

“I accept, but just so we are clear, I am not coming back here and walking through that grass. I do not need to die.” Bonnie said pointing at the grass.

Damon laughed pulling her into his shoulder.

“You love it; you just don’t know it yet.” Damon told her.

“I really doubt that.” Bonnie said

They walked back into the house to look for Clara and make a bid for Salvatore Manor.


	10. The other Shoe is about to drop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its all good until the complications start popping up

Bonnie Bennet was busy.

The play she had been directing for that last three months was finally showing tonight at the Tonmore Amphitheatre and because she was the director she felt as if she had swallowed bees. It had been nothing than rehearsals for the last two months but the final two weeks had been unbearable. Everyone had been nervous. A week before Bonnie and the writer of the play had had to rewrite an entire scene after they failed to agree on what form it should take. Eventually that had compromised and rewritten it, which had led to more rewriting because the conclusion had conflicted with what had been rewritten before. It had been a week of sleepless nights and petty arguments but they had made it through.

She had conducted a lot of research on Latin spells or what passed as spells since Magic was not real and she was finally happy with the spells she had chosen. Professor Mason had been vital in making her understand what expression magic was all about. She had been great help throughout the project.

Her hard work and the team’s had culminated in a play that she was proud of, she was still as nervous as hell but at least she was confident in the play. So today she was going to relax, as much as she could until an hour before the premiere. The whole team needed rest today. Probably a nap would be in order but only after she ate, she was starving. Too bad Damon wasn’t around; she’d have to eat all by herself today. She had not spent time with him in two weeks, since they saw the house. To Bonnie’s surprise Damon had taken to renovating their new house with a lot of commitment. With her crazy schedule and the renovation it had become almost impossible for them to sync their schedules. Nevertheless, she would see him tonight when he came to watch the play.

Bonnie walked into ‘the quad’ and started looking for table. She spotted Sam at the far end waving frantically at her, she smiled and headed towards her.

“Bonnie,” said Sam standing up to give Bonnie a hug. “I haven’t seen you in years. How’s the play?”

“It’s been three days Sam,” Bonnie said rolling her eyes as she hugged her back.

She sat down next to Sam and waved for a waiter.

“Seriously, how are you feeling about tonight?” Sam asked sipping on her tea.

“I am a nervous wreck.” Bonnie said seriously turning to give her order to the waiter.

“You shouldn’t be, I’ve watched you guys practice. The play is awesome.” Sam said. “So something as small as Whitmore College coming for the play should not bother you.”

Bonnie almost chocked on her tongue.

“What do you mean, Whitmore College is coming for the play and where the hell is Whitmore?” Bonnie asked hysterically

“Oh shit, I thought you knew.” Sam said.

“Of course I didn’t.” Bonnie almost shouted.

“Calm down Bonnie, Professor Mason invited them over to watch the play, it’s not the whole college, just the drama class.” Sam said

“Oh my God.” Bonnie said, “what if the play isn’t good enough?”

“Will you stop worrying about it, if it’s good enough for Professor Mason to invite another school you better believe that it is good. If you don’t believe me ask your boyfriend, I’m sure he will agree with me.” Sam said smiling mischievously.

“Who?” Bonnie asked utterly confused.

Sam just laughed as a waiter brought Bonnie’s order.

“I mean the dark-haired, blue eyed god who happens to have a great relationship with leather jackets.” Sam said.

“You mean Damon?” Bonnie asked taking a bite of her stir-fried rice.

“Of course, who else?”

“Damon is not my boyfriend.”

“Bon Bon, I don’t know whether this has occurred to you, but your story is famous around campus.”

“What story?”

“The story about how the two o you were found unconscious holding hands, I mean awwww.” Sam said dubbing fake tears with her napkin.

“We are not dating, plus he’s a lecturer and I am a student. Those kinds of relationships are frowned upon.” Bonnie said

“Trust me,” Sam said smiling “If there is a relationship everyone is rooting for including members of the faculty, it’s yours.”

“Please stop,” Bonnie said “that’s outrageous.”

“What is outrageous is that 80% o girl on this campus would risk getting expelled just to sleep with Mr. Smoldertore.”

“What did you call him?’

“It’s a nick name women all over campus are proud of. Owing to his smoldering hotness, Mr Salvatore has been named Smoldertore. You can’t even argue with anyone about that name, because he makes women cream just by looking at them. I mean what was God thinking? “Hey Paul, I would like to confuse women everywhere how should we go about it? Oh! I know, let’s put a Smoldertore on the planet.

Bonnie was laughing at Sam’s impression which she thought was ridiculously hilarious.

“Sam, you are insane.”

“That my dear is the truth. I mean if he taught any one of my classes, I would not understand a thing. I’d just be there taking notes like, ‘the world war was hot, hot, hot, hot, gorgeous, God’s gift to women.” Sam said. “As you can tell I have a crush, so why aren’t you dating him yet. You should have at least slept with the man by now.”

“Would you stop, he and I are just good friends.”

“Bonnie, you guys must have been dating before all of this happened. Don’t you feel anything for him?”

“We’re not there, I don’t know if we’ll ever get there and we haven’t had that discussion yet and to be honest, I don’t think we want to.”

“If I woke up from a comma and someone told me Mr Salvatore was my boyfriend, I’d marry him the next day.” said Sam seriously.

“It’s not that simple, relationships should be based on something more than looks. I care about him and I consider him family. We’re all we got.” Bonnie said shrugging

“Well, if you ask me, I think both of you are in denial.”

“Why would you say that?” Bonnie asked.

“It’s the way he looks at you. Do you know he came to watch you guys rehearse this week? He just stood there and watched you with a smile on his face as you bossed around people on stage.”

“I am not bossy” Bonnie said, “and I am sure he was just watching the play.”

“If you say so, but I am convinced he wasn’t even aware he was doing it. Everyone can see he cares about you. You guys might not remember how close you were but I can tell you must have been great together.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, we argue all the time.”

“So do married people, that don’t mean they don’t love each other.” Sam said winking at Bonnie. “So where is Damon anyway?”

“He’s busy with renovations on the house.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about that. Salvatore Manor.”

“That’s not what the house is called.”

“Not yet, but people in this town are tired of calling it ‘the creepy old house at the end of Ghost town’.”

Bonnie snorted in disbelief.

“Great, please thank the town on our behalf.” Bonnie said sarcastically

“Will you be living at the Salvatore manor with his lordship Miss Bennet?” Sam asked clearly amused.

“Not every day, probably when I can. I like living on campus, I want the full campus experience.”

“Bonnie Bennet, how do you not see it? The man bought you a house; if that does not spell marriage I do not know what else will.”

“He did not buy the house for me,” Bonnie protested.

“Tell that to the rest of Stanton,” Sam said widely.

 ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

“We have been doing a lot of theory in this class and I think it’s about time we got some exposure. This is a drama class after all, it’s about time we saw some action. A dear friend of mine from Tonmore University has invited us to watch a play the school is producing. For those of you who have no idea where Tonmore University is, it’s in Stanton. The Tonmore drama club put Stanton on the map back in the day and they are ranked top 3 for their drama programme. The point of this visit is to learn and if we’re being honest steal a few of their tricks when it comes to play production.”

Caroline was listening half-heartedly to Professor Lauren. “For those of you who want to see this play please write your name on the piece of paper going round the class.” A dark-haired girl seated next to Caroline handed her the piece of paper. Caroline took it but instead of writing her name she stared at it.

‘What do I have to lose?’ Caroline asked herself, ‘It’s Friday and I have nothing to do, how sad. My friends and I aren’t that close anymore. I can’t even visit my mum because of the situation with that damn magical bubble so I might as well get a change of scenery.’

After thinking it through Caroline finally wrote her name on the piece of paper.

‘Who knows, if Tonmore is really that good I could even transfer. As my therapist and I have established there is nothing keeping me here, not anymore.’ Caroline thought as she passed the paper to the guy seated on her right.

‘Watch out Tonmore University, Caroline Forbes is coming for a visit.’ Caroline thought.


	11. Hey, I know you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi Present, let me introduce you to my past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited about Caroline finding them. This has a lot of implications for everyone.
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> XoXo

The amphitheatre was slowly filling up. She could see Damon seated in the second row. She tried to get his attention from behind the stage curtain. When he finally caught sight of her, she waved frantically feeling relief that he had made it. He waved back at her smiling. She could do this. She turned away from the curtain and headed to the rest of the crew to ensure everything was ready and going according to plan.

 *****************************************************************************************************************************************

The bus from Whitmore College dropped the students off at the entrance of the amphitheatre. Caroline was amazed at how huge the theatre was. This small town school definitely had money. She followed her fellow classmates as they were ushered to their seats. The whole left side of the theatre was reserved for them which Caroline thought was quite generous considering the enormous theatre was almost full and the only empty seats were the ones reserved for Whitmore. She moved down to the third row from the front and sat in the seat in the middle of the row.

 _How good are these plays that people are here on a Friday night?_ Caroline asked herself.

She looked around and saw a dark-haired man waving to someone behind the curtain. He was in a leather jacket and was seated in the second row from the stage.

 _Why does he look familiar?_ Caroline thought puzzled. _From this angle he almost looks like…Caroline that is ridiculous even for you. You had never heard of Tonmore University until about 8 hours ago, how could you possibly know anyone here?_ Caroline smiled. Her paranoia was getting the better of her.

 ********************************************************************************************************************************************

The light in the amphitheatre dimmed and a tall blonde lady appeared on stage with a microphone.

“Thank you for coming out tonight. My name is Professor Hilary Mason. From the synopsis tucked behind the seats in front of you,” there was movement as the audience reached for the synopsis, “this play is about a young witch who becomes aware of her power and battles through the challenges that come from possessing such power. That should also explain why the occult professor is introducing the play, nobody else believes in magic.” There was laughter in the amphitheatre.

 _Lady you have no idea_. Caroline thought smiling.

“I would also like to congratulate the director of this play on her maiden play. She also happens to be one of my best students so don’t hold that against her if the magic spells look and sound realistic.” The theatre erupted in laughter. “She has done a tremendous job on this play and I hope you enjoy Bonnie Bennett’s work as much as I have. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, ‘ _A witch’s Tale’”_

The professor walked off stage amid applause from the audience. The curtain rose to reveal what appeared to be a school setting. However Caroline wasn’t paying attention.

_Did she just say Bonnie Bennett?_

 ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Judging from the standing ovation the crew got when the final curtain came down, Caroline would say the play had been a success but she couldn’t say she knew that for fact considering she wasn’t paying attention half the time. She had been thrown off when Professor Mason had introduced the director as Bonnie Bennett. The audience was filing out of the theatre but Caroline was still seated.

 _There just can’t be two Bonnie Bennett’s in the world. I know a lot of people have similar name but in this situation it was just too coincidental. It was too much of a coincidence that the witchy stuff in the play was mostly genuine and anyone who had witnessed magic being practiced would say the same. Even their take on expression was spot on. There can’t be two Bonnie Bennetts in the world who know that much about magic._ Caroline thought.

“Excuse me, Miss?” A man in a black suit said. “We are locking the theatre in a few minutes.”

Startled out of her thoughts, Caroline realized she was the only one left in the amphitheatre. She smiled apologetically at the man as she stood up and headed for the door.

 _It can’t be Bonnie, she’s dead. Probably the professor is a witch and she helped this Bennett write the magic stuff_.  Caroline tried to convince herself.

Once she had stepped outside the amphitheatre she was hit by the cold. She breathed in the fresh air hoping it would help clear her muddled thoughts. She stood outside and watched people milling about as she tried to calm herself down to a point where she could think reasonably.

_It’s ridiculous; some part of me is just hoping she’s alive. It can’t be her._

Having convinced herself that she was losing her mind, she started walking toward the Whitmore bus and that’s when she heard it. She almost missed it! There were too many people laughing and talking outside the theatre but that laugh was distinctive. She would know it anywhere.

“Bonnie?” Caroline whispered.

 ****************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Bonnie the play was awesome. If you have time could you take a look at a play I wrote for my drama class and tell me if you would mind directing it.” A short girl in a flowery dress was asking Bonnie.

“Yeah sure, no problem. I could give you my email address and we could talk about it, if that’s cool” Bonnie said as she handed over her phone for the girl to put her number.

It had been happening all night. People had congratulated her, offered their scripts for evaluation and some had even commissioned her to direct their plays for a fee. She couldn’t believe it, her play was a success.

The girl handed back her phone and waved goodbye as she walked away. Bonnie waved goodbye back and watched as a blonde girl started coming towards her.

“Bonnie?” The blonde said when she reached her.

Before Bonnie could reply, she was grabbed in a bone crushing hug.

“Oh my God, I have missed you so much. You have no idea how everything changed.” Caroline went on

“Wait, what? Have we met before?” Bonnie asked confused when she was released from the hug.

Bonnie was sure she had never met the blonde girl before but the blonde looked confused.

“Bonnie?” Caroline asked frowning

“Yes?” Bonnie said, not knowing exactly where this strange conversation was going.

“Hey, look at you being Miss Celebrity.” Damon said as he approached Bonnie.

Bonnie turned around and gave Damon a smile.

“Damon?” Caroline said still reeling from shock.

“Yes and who might you be blondie?” Damon asked throwing his left arm around Bonnie’s shoulders.

Caroline stood still as she watched Bonnie and Damon look at her confused. They looked as if they genuinely had no idea who she was.

 _They don’t know who I am_.  Caroline thought sadly.

“um…my name is Caroline Forbes.” Caroline finally said. “I’m so sorry this must be weird for you, I just wanted to come over and say how much I enjoyed the play.”

 _Why don’t they recognize me?_ Caroline thought frantically

“Don’t encourage her, next thing you know she’ll be saying how she wants to go to Hollywood to follow her dreams.” Damon said.

“Really Damon?” Bonnie said looking at Damon

“What?  All I am doing is saving you from a stress filled future; you should have seen her obsessing over the play over the past couple of months.” Damon said turning to Caroline.

“It was not months, it was just one day.” Bonnie countered

“Whatever you say witchy.” Damon said smirking.

“You really didn’t have to worry about it, it was perfect.” Caroline said to Bonnie.

 _I have no idea what to do here, should I tell them who I am, what is wrong with them?_  Caroline thought growing more and more worried by the second.

“I really don’t mean to cut this short but Bonnie we need to leave if we are going to make it on time.” Damon said looking at Bonnie.

“Of course,” Bonnie replied turning to Caroline, “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about, you looked very determined when I saw you walking towards me.”

“No I just wanted to say hi.” Caroline said

“Are you sure we haven’t met before?” Bonnie asked looking at Caroline sceptically.

 _Tell them Caroline, say yes. Say you’ve met before. Tell her how you practically grew up together; tell her how much you’ve missed her. Tell Damon how Stefan became a dick after he died. Tell them everything. Here’s your chance._ Caroline thought.

“No we’ve never met before.” Caroline said instead

“It was nice to meet you.” Bonnie said smiling widely at Caroline. She did feel as if she knew her though.

“Blondie.” Damon said as he and Bonnie turned to walk away.

Caroline watched them as they walked away.

 _Either this is some freaky doppelgänger shit, or I just found Damon and Bonnie. And they are alive!_ Caroline thought.

 ***********************************************************************************************************************

Caroline Forbes was determined.

She was going to get to the bottom of this particular problem if it’s the last thing she did, and it would involve a lot of compulsion.

First things first.

Caroline walked towards the Whitmore College bus driver and looked straight into his eyes.

“You’re not to leave without me is that clear?”

“Yes.” the bus driver said without argument

“Make up any excuse you can but it is important that you don’t leave me.”

“I won’t leave without you.”

Satisfied Caroline turned back toward the crowd of people and started hunting. She grabbed the arm of one boy who was walking by.

“Hey lady, what’s wrong with…” He was cut off by Caroline before he could finish that sentence

“Do you know Bonnie Bennett?” Caroline asked the boy making sure she maintained eye contact.

“Everyone knows her.”

“Who is she closest to on this campus?”

“She hangs out with Sam a lot.”

“Who is he?”

“It’s a she; she’s the one in the white dress talking on the phone.” The boy said pointing Sam out of the crowd.

“Forget we had this conversation.” Caroline said as she started walking away from the boy who was now confused about why he was standing there talking to no one in particular.

Caroline was already standing beside the girl side before the boy could start walking. The girl looked up at Caroline.

“Hang up.” Caroline said

Sam meekly removed the phone from her left ear and cancelled the call.

“Good, you and I are going to have a conversation about Bonnie Bennett, so where can we talk privately.

“The quad, it’s normally full but tonight it will be pretty empty.” Sam said without hesitation

“Lead the way.” Caroline said

Caroline followed Sam toward ‘the quad’.


	12. Hey I know you (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi present meet my past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> I love this chapter not because of Caroline but because its the last chapter before everything changes. Now someone from their past knows that Bonnie and Damon exist so that is bound to bring a lot of complications especially for Theo, who has caught the attention of a vampire which is the last thing he wanted to do. 
> 
> I hope you love it. :-)

Caroline had ordered two café lattes from the waiter and had compelled him to make sure they were not disturbed. Just as Sam had promised the bar cum restaurant was nearly empty but they were seated at a table in the corner just in case one of the patrons decided to eavesdrop.

“Tell me about Bonnie.”

“She’s really cool and she’s my friend.” Sam said honestly.

“From the beginning, what do you know about her and Damon Salvatore?” Caroline asked.

“They were found together on a street near the University by an evening student as she was heading home. She called for an ambulance and they were taken to hospital, rumour has it that the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with them except that they did not remember who they were.”

“That explains it,” Caroline said.

“What?”

“Nothing, go on how did they get here?” Caroline asked waving her hand in a circular motion.

“According to Bonnie, Dr T got them into Tonmore University.”

“Who’s Dr T?”

“Dr Theo Caldwell, he’s the head of the History Faculty and a board member.”

“Why did he help them?”

“Bonnie said that it was out of the goodness of his heart. he even found out who they are and where they are from.”

“Which is where exactly?”

“Apparently Bonnie and Damon are from Trenton. Damon used to be a college tutor. They left Trenton together.”

“Where the hell is Trenton?”

“I don’t know, it’s a town somewhere.”

“Are you saying this Dr T person told them they were from Trenton?”

“That’s what Bonnie said, they even have I.D’s and everything.”

“The hell!” Caroline said out loud. To herself she asked ‘What is this Dr T trying to do and who the hell is he?’

“You said he got them both into Tonmore, does Damon go here too?” Caroline asked

“No Mr Salvatore is a lecturer he teaches History.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“The faculty doesn’t think so; performance has improved about 50% since he started teaching. Which is the only reason the board lets him do whatever he wants.”

Caroline looked at Sam incredulously.

“Well, I bet those students are just afraid of him.” Caroline said crossing her hands over her chest.

“They are,” Sam agreed “on his first day here, Mr Salvatore threatened to post all their marks on every social media platform on earth if they failed. And he did. He doesn’t even know his students names, my friend Olive who’s in his class has the misfortune of being called tattoo blondie.”

Caroline found herself laughing. “That is so Damon. Are Bonnie and Damon close?”

“Well everyone thinks that Bonnie and Damon are a couple but Bonnie told me today that that wasn’t true, but I don’t believe her.”

“Why don’t you believe her?”

“Damon bought her a house, granted it’s creepy and it’s located in an even creepier part of town, but no dude does that without a reason. Anyway everyone in this town has started referring to it as the Salvatore Manor anyway.”

‘Damon bought a house? That isn’t even something Damon would consider,’ Caroline thought, ‘unless it meant he could feed without being seen then it makes sense.’

“Where is this Salvatore Manor?” Caroline asked Sam.

“It’s across the road from Miller Lane.”

“How many people live there?”

“On Miller Lane?”

“No, the other neighbourhood!”

“No one has lived there since the 1940’, that’s why it’s called ‘Ghost Town’. Miller lane on the contrary is highly populated but that’s only because it’s separated from ‘Ghost Town’ by a highway.”

“Have there been any animal attacks over the last few months?” Caroline asked.

“No, why would there be?”

“Is there any rumour about Damon Salvatore going around, no matter how outrageous?”

“Other than, he is probably the hottest specimen to ever grace Tonmore University?” Sam asked.

Caroline rolled her eyes. She wasn’t going to get anything more about Damon and Bonnie from Sam without more information.

“You said they were both taken to hospital when they arrived, which one was it?”

“Tonmore University Hospital.”

“Forget we had this conversation. You felt like a Café latte so you came here. Do you understand?”

“I wanted a café latte.” said Sam.

************************************************************************************************************

 

Caroline walked through the automatic sliding doors of Tonmore University Hospital and headed straight for the front desk. She was headed for a dark-skinned nurse with short-croppedhair and headed towards her.

“Excuse me,” Caroline said.

“Yes,” The nurse replied not looking up from her paper work.

Caroline didn’t have time for this.

“Look at me.” Caroline said.

“Excuse me  but…” the nurse who was now looking at Caroline stopped talking.

“There was a couple with amnesia brought in a while back.”

“Yes, Jane and John Doe.” The nurse said.

“Who treated them?”

“Dr Nelson and Dr Henderson.”

“Who can I talk to now?”

“Dr Nelson is on call today.”

“Where can I find him.”

“Second floor, second office on your right immediately after the pharmacy.”

“Thank you, now do me a favour and forget me and this conversation.”

“Forget what?” The nurse asked the space in front of her desk that Caroline had just disappeared from.

 

Caroline walked into the 2nd office and watched as a handsome blonde man looked up from his work confused.

“Can I help you?” He asked.

“Are you Dr Nelson?” Caroline asked

“Yes and you are?”

“That’s not important.”

“Excuse me?”

Caroline approached him and sat on the edge of his desk facing him.

“You treated a John and Jane Doe, is that correct?”

“Yes, no.”

“Which one is it Doc?”

“I just treated John Doe but I was aware of Jane Doe’s case as well.”

“Why do they have amnesia?”

“I don’t know, there was no physical trauma and our therapist did not think it was psychological either, we couldn’t even explain why they were unconscious.”

“Was there anything weird about John Doe?’

“Other than his unconsciousness and his amnesia, when he was brought in he was healthy human being.”

“You said human being. Is he human?”

“That’s a funny question to be asked twice but yes he is human.”

“Who else asked you whether John Doe was human?”

“Dr Caldwell.”

“As in Dr Theo Caldwell, Dr T?”

“Yes, that’s what the students call him?’

“What do you know about him?”

“We’ve been friends for a while. “

“Has he ever met John Doe?”

“Yes, I introduced them.”

“Why?”

“I wanted Theo to help them, they had no place to go and Theo is not only my friend but his word has a lot of sway at the university. I thought that since I helped him when he needed it, he would return the favour.”

“Why would a successful and powerful man like Dr T need your help with?

“He went through a rough patch back in 2011, he never talks about it but something happened in his hometown.”

“Where is that?”

“Tennessee.”

‘Who is this Theo and what does he have to do with anything?’ Caroline asked herself. ‘His name just keeps popping up everywhere.’

“How did Theo react when you introduced him to John Doe?” Caroline asked on a whim.

“He looked shocked and when I tried to shake him he looked as if he was remembering something. When I asked him about it he said he was alright.”

‘Well what do you know, Dr T knows something.’ Caroline thought.

“Thank you, now forget this conversation and that I was ever here.”

********************************************************************************************************************

 

The Whitmore college bus was on its way back to Whitmore University. The drama class students were all very excited; they all couldn’t stop talking about how good the play was, all of them except one. The blonde girl seated in the back left corner of the bus. She could give a rat’s ass about the play. She had other things to think about.


	13. Part 2: Stefan Salvatore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Einstein was right, time is relative to the observer. When you're looking down the barrel of a gun, time slows down. Your whole life flashes by, heartbreak and scars. Stay with it, and you can live a lifetime in that split second.'  
> -Max Payne

Stefan Salvatore is by any definition a gorgeous man. He is 6 feet tall, with brown hair and forest green eyes. He had a body most men would kill to have and a butt tight enough to bounce a quarter off of. Men hated him and women wanted to have him, so then not much different than his brother and therefore a Salvatore through and through. Stefan was born on November 1st 1846 to Giuseppe and Lily Salvatore.

He was wearing a black T-shirt over a pair of blue jeans that hung loose from his leans hips and were tucked into his black combat boots. He was standing on his back porch of his house looking out at the black sky with his hands folded across his chest.

 

‘It’s almost time.’ Stefan thought.

 

Stefan walked back into the house and brought a lawn chair and placed it in the middle of the porch. He walked back into the house and came out with a steaming cup of coffee and an ancient looking leather bound book. He sat on the lawn chair and waited. It wasn’t the first time he had done this; he had sat outside on the porch every day since he had moved back. Back meaning 5 miles from Mystic Falls, he could never go home again, he had accepted that. When he had come back he had found a house and moved in as much as someone like him could. The first time he had sat outside on his porch had been because his new house still smelt like paint but while he was there he had discovered something curious about the morning sun. The second time he had sat outside on his porch he had started counting. On the third day he had put markers tracking the movement of the rays of the sun from the hedge to where he was seated on his porch. Every day since then he had sat on his porch counting. Today he would do the same but this count down would be different.

 

His neighbours probably thought he liked drinking his coffee every morning while he watched the sun come up the horizon. The break of dawn as it was called. Most people were fascinated by it, photographers took photos of it, writers wrote books about it and people, happy people, probably did this every morning before they started their day.

 

Stefan wasn’t most people. People who watched the sun come up the horizon found it beautiful; it turned the sky into a pink hue that changed as the sun continued to rise. Vampires who had rings crafted by witches on the other hand were in awe of the sun, for them it was a source of warmth and just a small reminder of the humanity they had lost while vampires who didn’t own nifty little rings were terrified of the sun. That beautiful pink hue was a trigger for fear to a vampire who couldn’t walk in the sun. In that split second before the rays of the sun reach your skin, you know you’re going to die and that it’s going to hurt. What Stefan had discovered was that from the spot he was sitting in on his porch the rays of the sun couldn’t reach you immediately meaning death was delayed.

 

From his porch he could always look at the light from the sun as it got closer and closer. In those 30 seconds as Stefan had discovered, he would think about his life and how he had spent every year, all 168 years. When you’ve had a long life such as he had you had a lot to think about.

 

Today was different because he wanted to think about specific events in his life, events that were significant, which is why today he was carrying his diary. He had written down those significant moments in this leather bound book. He wanted those moments to be the last things he thought about. Today was different because Stefan Salvatore wasn’t wearing his ring.

 

‘It’s almost comforting to know when I am going to die.’ Stefan thought sadly.

 

He took a sip from his cup of coffee as the sky turned pink. He could feel it, the fear. His hand started shaking so he placed the cup on the ground next to his lawn chair. He reached for his diary and frowned as his trembling fingers struggled to untie the strap on his diary.

 

He watched as the light from the sun lit up the hedges. He was terrified. As he continued to struggle with the leather strap he remembered the first time he had tried to tie a tie. It had been their mother’s funeral and he had wanted to look good just for her, even though she couldn’t see him. He had struggled and just before he was about to give up Damon had walked in and found him. Damon had ended up giving him his own tie and tying it for him. Damon had always taken care of him even as a boy.

 

‘Too bad he isn’t here.’ Stefan thought as he finally managed to open the diary.

 

The light was now illuminating the flowerbed.  – 28 seconds left.

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I met the most beautiful woman today her name is Katherine Pierce. Her laugh is contagious and her smile is simply the greatest thing since creation._

_Dear Diary,_

_Miss Pierce will be staying with us for a while, my father has agreed to it. What happened to Miss Pierce’s family is simply a tragedy, how could he say no. Damon is as fascinated by her beauty as I am. We discussed it like naughty little boys while he taught me how to play football. She is the reason he left the confederate army, father of course isn’t pleased but I am just glad my brother’s back home._

The sun shone off the row of stones surrounding the flowerbed. – 27 seconds left.

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I fear Miss Katherine has come between Damon and I. We have replaced the time we spent laughing with each other and being brothers with competing for Katherine’s affections. I suppose the best thing to do would be to let him have her but I cannot because I want her as much as he does. Katherine will surely be the death of us._

_Dear Diary,_

_Damon knows that Katherine is a vampire. I find myself resentful of my brother because I thought that was my secret and hers to keep. But Damon and I still love her even now that we know who she really is. Father and the other council members continue to talk about the demons of the night and I find myself tempted to tell them how not all of them are evil. How can Katherine ever be evil?_

Stefan looked up from his diary and saw the rays of the sun reach the back lawn – 26 seconds left.

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I made a mistake. I tried to convince my father about the goodness of vampires even after Damon warned me not to, because of my stupidity Katherine has been rounded up with the rest of the vampires. Damon is furious with me; he thinks that I tried to betray him. He plans on getting Katherine out tonight, I will help him even if he doesn’t want my help._

The rays of the sun made the green of the grass shine.  - 25 seconds left.

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I am a vampire. I feel powerful, everything is heightened. I can run faster than the wind and I can hear further than any human being. It is exhilarating and the power is intoxicating. A few bad things have happened as well. I killed father, it wasn’t intentional, I was trying to say goodbye even though he was the one who shot Damon and I but I did not know my own strength and I ended up killing him instead. As for Damon, I fear that I may never see him again. He resents that I turned him into a vampire._

24 seconds left.

 

_Dear Diary,_

_Even with Lexi’s help I can’t seem to control my need for blood, it controls me and I am losing time. i think it’s finally time to admit that I may be the Ripper of Monterrey._

23 seconds left.

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I think the 20’s might be the best years of my life. I have no idea where Lexi is but why would I care, her constant nagging is annoying. What is the point of being a vampire if you can’t enjoy it? My new friends don’t nag me; in fact they’re the life of the party. I think Klaus Michealson might be my best friend and his sister Rebekah is the first woman I have fallen in love with since Katherine._

22 seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I thought we were finally in a good place with Damon but it seems I was wrong. We were supposed to go to battle together but Damon didn’t show up. I really thought that this time we would be the Salvatore brothers again._

 

21 seconds left

 

_Dear diary,_

_I do not know how this is possible but she looks exactly like Katherine, I thought I had left that ghost behind but it seems I haven’t._

20 Seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_Elena is nothing like Katherine and I have fallen deeply in love with her. I think this might be my forever. Now if only Damon would get out of town and let them be happy._

19 seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I hate Damon. He killed Lexi. She was my oldest friend and he killed her on my birthday._

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I killed Vicki Donovan today. I had no choice, he was about to kill Jeremy and I couldn’t let her do that. Of course this is all Damon’s fault why does he keep doing this._

_Dear Diary,_

_Sheila Bennet died today. She was a remarkable woman and I will never forget her contribution to the Civil rights movement. Her death could have been avoided if Damon hadn’t been so obsessed with Katherine and if she had left Damon and I in the tomb._

_Dear Diary,_

_No matter how much I hate my brother I can’t let him die. I literally walked through fire to get him out today. I just couldn’t watch him die, He’s my brother._

18 Seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_Katherine Pierce is back in town and the selfish little bitch turned Caroline into a vampire. Living in Mystic Falls is becoming a constant battle to save Elena._

_Dear Diary,_

_I do not know how it happened but somewhere along the way Damon fell in love with Elena. I thought this time it would be different but I guess I was asking for too much._

17 seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_We won the battle and we lost Jenna and John to do it. I didn’t like John but he did for Elena was brave. Even after all that, we still lost the war because Elijah betrayed us and now we have to deal with Klaus who is now a hybrid._

_Dear Diary,_

_Damon is dying from werewolf bite. I can’t let him die. We already buried enough people today and I won’t bury my brother. I will find a way if it’s the last thing I do._

 

16 seconds left

 

_Dear diary,_

_We’ve found a way to kill Klaus through his mother. And I thought our dad was heartless._

_Dear Diary,_

_We had to kill Bonnie’s mother today, it wouldn’t have been our first choice but it was the only we were going to survive. I have to wonder how much more she is going to have to lose before we leave her alone._

 

Stefan sighed and watched the rays of the sun reached the cobblestone path. – 15 seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_We lost Alaric today._

_Dear Diary,_

_Klaus is gone and it would have been great day if Elena hadn’t died. When will we ever learn, it’s never a good day_

14 seconds left

_Dear Diary,_

_Elena is in love with Damon, I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at him. She won’t admit it but I know it in my heart. She doesn’t want my help anymore, she just wants Damon’s. I know it but I just can’t accept it. It has to be the sire bond. Elena wouldn’t love Damon she’s too pure for that._

13 Seconds left

 

Dear Diary,

Elena and I have broken up; it’s no longer about the sire bond. She really loves Damon but there’s still hope if only I can find the cure then maybe all this will be alright and then things can go back to normal.

_Dear Diary,_

_We finally found the cure but there’s only one dose. It’s funny because as Vampires we spend all our lives regretting our vampirism but when we were offered the chance to become human no one wanted it except Rebecca. Everyone wanted to give the cure to Elena. I wouldn’t take it without Elena, Damon wouldn’t take it even for her and Caroline has finally discovered that she likes who she is now._

_Dear Diary,_

_Elena shoved the cure down Katherine’s throat. She gave it or rather force fed it to the one person who didn’t want it at all. It is poetic justice but it’s also such a waste. All that travelling, Jeremy dying, Elena turning off her humanity, Bonnie’s dangerous dance with expression and Bonnie almost losing her mind, all that, just to get the cure for Elena. Katherine deserves everything she gets but what a waste._

_Dear Diary,_

_Elena chose Damon._

 

12 seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_We woke a sleeping monster when we went looking for the cure, his name is Silas and I’m his doppelgänger_.

 

11 seconds left

 

_I spent my summer drowning in a vault and hallucinating conversations with my brother and my ex. the two I should hate the most and yet I spent the precious minutes before I drowned again thinking about them. They were having the time of their lives while I was drowning. I should hate them except Damon has never been this happy and no matter how I feel about them, he’s my brother, he’s the only family I got._

 

10 seconds left

_Dear Diary_

_Katherine died today. I feel no remorse and yet she was my first love. There was a time when I loved her but that was a long time ago. That love ended when I finally figured out how she manipulated me, not to mention what she did to Damon and me. She was a menace, she turned Tyler into a werewolf, Killed Caroline, Sheila’s death was all because of her and to top is all of she killed Jeremy. There’s a special place in hell for Katherine._

 

9 seconds left

_Dear Diary,_

_Travellers are the most annoying witches I have ever met. Their obsession with making a permanent home borders on lunacy. They’re out for blood and its mine and Elena’s the remaining doppelgängers._

 

The rays of the sun were now at the base of the porch. -8 Seconds left

 

_Dear Diary,_

_I died yesterday. A traveller in Tyler’s body ripped out my heart right in front of Caroline. I finally got a glimpse of the other side. It was creepy and it was collapsing. The only good thing that came from that was that I got to see Lexi again. Damon wouldn’t let me die of course so he killed all the travellers and himself just to get me back. After all this time and all our squabbling my brother still won’t let me die._

 

7 Seconds left

_I waited for him with Elena, Bonnie and Lexi. I couldn’t find him and I wasn’t planning on leaving without him but Bonnie hunched over in pain and I caught her before she fell and the next thing I knew I was back in the real world without my brother. I left him there._

 

6 seconds left.

_Dear diary,_

_I am alive again but Bonnie and Damon are gone. It’s so unfair because he was finally happy. I hadn’t realized it before but somewhere along the way Damon and I became family and not just brothers. Now he’s gone and I have no one._

 

5 Seconds left

_Dear Diary,_

_I am still looking for a way to bring Damon and Bonnie back. There has to be a way. Alaric sent me a lead about a coven in Oregon, that’s where I am headed. I’m hoping this will be the lead that pans out, it has to be. I can’t take much more disappointment._

 

4 Seconds left

_Dear Diary,_

_Damon should have never been on the other side, it was supposed to be me. Why couldn’t he let me die? There was nothing in Oregon, there was literally nothing. This is all my fault._

3 seconds Left

_Dear Diary,_

_It’s been months and my brother is still gone. It might be time to accept the fact that he’s never coming back. Isn’t that what gone means and yet he’s still here, he’s everywhere. We shared the same friends even my ex-girlfriend is his girlfriend. He’s everywhere and yet nowhere. He’s in everyone I know. I can’t stay here anymore, I just can’t. I can’t bear waking up every morning and talking to the same people knowing he won’t be coming around the corner or that I can’t just call him. I can’t bear to talk to anyone about him including Caroline. I’ve known him longer than anyone else._

 

2 seconds left

_Dear Diary,_

_I moved to Georgia. I work as a mechanic for this asshole of a boss and I have a lovely girlfriend. I have moved on. Caroline keeps calling but I can’t pick up. She’s part of my past now, a past my brother existed in. In my present Damon doesn’t exist, so I don’t need to fill it with reminders of my past. Caroline is a reminder of what I lost, they all are._

 

Stefan could feel the pain in his calves, the sun was here. He closed his diary and his eyes. – 1 second

 

“Dear Diary,” Stefan whispered out loud “this will be my last entry. I have lived 168 years and this is how I plan on dying, in pain. I wasted so much time fighting with my brother because I thought we had forever. So many wasted years, fighting over girls who didn’t love us enough. I miss my brother and I finally know now that I can’t live without him and God knows I’ve tried.”

 

Stefan could feel his fingers start to burn, soon the light would penetrate his jeans and shirt and his whole body would be on fire. it wouldn’t be long now.

 

As Stefan concentrated on the growing pain in this body, he missed the sound of the front door opening and closing and the screen door leading to the back porch opening.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Caroline asked standing in front of Stefan.


	14. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've lost people and found them again but the second time round, things just make more sense.
> 
> Anonymous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy. :-)

Caroline grabbed Stefan by his collar and threw him back into the house. The curtains in the house were still drawn so once Stefan landed on the kitchen floor he immediately started healing. Stefan picked himself off the floor and sat in one of the chairs at the kitchen counter. He turned to look at Caroline who was looking at him furiously.

 

“Who are you?” Caroline asked.

 

Stefan sighed in defeat and closed his eyes tilting his head back. He really didn’t want to have this argument again.

 

“What do you want Caroline?” Stefan asked

 

“I want to know what the hell happened to you, who is this person you have become?” Caroline asked furiously.

 

“It’s a funny story actually, you see my brother died…” Stefan said.

 

“So you what? Decided to give up?” Caroline asked laughing sarcastically.

 

Stefan didn’t answer so Caroline turned her back on him and started pacing across the kitchen floor.

 

“You’re not the only one who lost someone Stefan.”

 

“It’s not the same.”

 

“I know Stefan,” Caroline said pausing in her pacing. “but it was never a reason for you to shut everyone out and give up.”

 

“What did you want me to do Caroline? I followed every lead you and Alaric gave me, nothing panned out. What was I supposed to do? Come back to Whitmore and hold hands with the rest of you? Commiserate about how we can’t go home and how it’s hard living without them? Maybe sing ‘kumbaya’ while we’re at it?” Stefan asked sarcastically.

 

“No!” Caroline shouted turning to look at him. He wasn’t looking at her so she walked until she stood in front of him. “You were supposed to come back for me. To help me.” Caroline said softly.

 

Stefan looked at Caroline for a minute before he got up and went behind the counter in search of the only bottle of bourbon he had.

 

“We already had this discussion Caroline, I don’t feel like doing it again, what do you want?” Stefan asked while opening and closing kitchen cabinets. Once he found what he was looking for he turned around to look at Caroline.

 

“This is the first time you are seeing me in months and that’s all you have to say to me?” Caroline asked angrily.

 

Stefan took a sip from the bottle of bourbon and let the question go unanswered.

 

“You’re a dick Stefan; I don’t even know why I care.” Caroline said once the silence had gone on for too long.

 

“No one asked you to Caroline.” Stefan said.

 

Caroline laughed trying to hide the tightness growing in her throat. She wasn’t going to cry. She swallowed hard and willed the moisture pooling in her eyes to dry up.

 

“Put your ring back on Stefan.” Caroline said turning away from him.

 

“I don’t want to and neither do I intend to.” Stefan replied.

 

“Put your ring back on.”

 

Stefan looked at Caroline’s back before he headed to the living room.

 

Caroline followed Stefan and watched him sit down on one of the sofas.

 

“Put your ring back on.”

 

“Damn it Caroline, leave me alone.”

 

Caroline leaned against the wall and looked at Stefan. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke up.

 

“Stefan…”

 

“Caroline get out or I swear…”

 

“Or you’ll what? Try and kill yourself again?”

 

Stefan rubbed his left temple in frustration.

 

“What do you want Caroline?” He gritted out in frustration.

 

“I want you to put your ring back on.”

 

“Why the hell should I do that?” Stefan shouted getting up from the sofa.

 

Caroline stood facing him in silence for a moment before she replied.

 

“I found them.”

 **************************************************************************************************

 

“Could I get two of your specials to go?”

 

“Sure that will be $10.25”

 

Bonnie smiled at the dark haired girl at the till as she handed over the money.

 

She was headed over to Salvatore manor to check up on Damon. She hadn’t seen him since they had had dinner after the play and that was two weeks ago. Damon had been busy as usual with the house. When he wasn’t teaching at Tonmore, he was working on the house. She wasn’t even sure he was remembering to eat. She just wanted to make sure he was still alive.

 

“It might take a few minutes, would you mind waiting?” The dark haired girl asked.

 

“No, its fine. I’ll wait.” Bonnie replied as she picked up a campus magazine off the counter.

 

She looked around the coffee house searching for a quiet place to sit. The quad wasn’t as full as it was on weekdays but it still had a few customers. Bonnie chose a booth that had a direct view of the counter so she could check on her order without standing and a little out of the way so as to be inconspicuous. She wasn’t hiding; she just wanted some peace and quiet.

 

She settled comfortably in the booth and started flipping randomly through the magazine. She stopped at the Arts and Culture page where she found an article about her play and started reading. She was so engrossed in the magazine that she was startled when someone called her name.

 

“Bonnie?”

 

Bonnie looked up to find the blonde girl she had met two weeks ago after the play smiling at her brightly.

 

 ***************************************************************************************************************************

Two Hours Earlier

Caroline was seated patiently in her car. She needed a few minutes. She was hoping that his curiosity would get the best of him and he would follow her so she could clarify. She hadn’t meant to spring the news on Stefan like that but then again she hadn’t planned on finding him ready to commit suicide.

‘What is happening to us?’ Caroline asked herself.

Caroline leaned back against her car seat and closed her eyes. She tried not think about how she would have found Stefan if she had come an hour or even a second later. She sat there quietly for about five minutes before she heard the passenger car door open. She didn’t open her eyes or make a sound. She felt the car sink with Stefan’s weight and yet she still waited.

“What do you mean you found them?”

‘He hasn’t combusted into flames so he must have put his ring back on.’ Caroline thought.

She sat up and opened her eyes.

“I found Damon and Bonnie.”

“Where?”

“In a small town called Stanton.”

“When?”

“About two weeks ago.”

“You’ve waited two weeks to tell me that you found them.”

“Seemed fair, you let me think for months that you were still looking for Bonnie and Damon.”

“That’s not fair Caroline.”

“Neither were you.”

Stefan took a deep breath and turned to look out the passenger window. His brother was alive.

“How is he?” Stefan asked still not looking at Caroline.

“He seems fine.” Caroline said quietly

Stefan took another deep breath and closed his eyes willing his tears of gratitude to dry up.

“They’re both fine. They’re the same people and yet not the same.” Caroline continued switching on the ignition.

“What do you mean?” Stefan asked.

Caroline put the car in gear and backed away from the curb.

“You’ll see.” Caroline said.

 **************************************************************************************************************************

‘What was her name again?’ Bonnie asked herself as she smiled back at the blonde girl.

The girl must have sensed her confusion because she supplied the answer before Bonnie could ask the question.

“My name is Caroline, we met the night of your play.”

‘Why is Caroline introducing herself?’ Stefan thought.

“Of course, how are you? It’s great to see you again.” Bonnie said.

“I’m great. I am still in love with your play.” Caroline said beaming at Bonnie who was staring quizzically at Stefan.

“Oh where are my manners? This is Stefan.” Caroline said turning around to look at Stefan. It was at this point that it finally dawned on him that Bonnie didn’t remember who they were.

Bonnie smiled at the tall brown haired god standing behind Caroline and wondered for a moment how Damon would react to the news that he finally had competition in the smouldering good looks department.

Stefan stepped forward and extended his hand to Bonnie. He waited for a reaction but there was none.

“Hey, Bonnie is it?” He said shaking her proffered hand.

‘The first time she touched me she knew I was a vampire, how come she isn’t reacting this time. Amnesia or not she should still be able to tell.’ Stefan mused to himself.

There was an awkward silence as everyone was at a loss for words, Caroline and Stefan because it was shocking to see Bonnie even for Caroline who had seen her once already and Bonnie because she couldn’t decide whether they were staring at her in admiration or creepily.

“Where’s Damon?” Caroline asked breaking the silence.

“He’s…,” Bonnie thought for a second before she answered “home. He’s at home.” She had never really said that out loud but now that she thought about it, it was their home.

“Home?” Stefan asked puzzled.

“Yes, the house needed a few repairs so he has been busy doing that.” Bonnie said.

“Really, all alone?” Caroline asked

“No, with a few contractors but most of their work is done now, so he is finishing up alone.” Bonnie said shrugging.

“Well, Stefan here is great with his hands, he could lend him a hand. Right Stefan?” Caroline asked while shoving her elbow into Stefan’s ribcage.

“Yeah sure.” Stefan said.

“That’s really nice of you, I really appreciate it. No offense but I just met you guys.” Bonnie said awkwardly trying to find the dark haired girl so she could deliver her from this awkward conversation.

Caroline looked at Bonnie sadly.

“Oh Bonnie,” Caroline said as she sat down in the booth facing Bonnie. She took Bonnie’s hand and looked at her.

“What are you doing Caroline?” Stefan asked moving closer to the booth.

“Bonnie, you’ve known me forever, you just don’t know it. We would never hurt you.” Caroline said quietly.

“Caroline…” Stefan said in warning.

“Relax Stefan.” Caroline said.

“She’s a witch Caroline, she can’t be compelled.” Stefan said urgently.

“What are you talking about?” Bonnie said trying to pull her hand away from Caroline’s.

“Hush, Bonnie. Forget what he just said.” Caroline said.

Bonnie visibly calmed down.

“I’m compelling her to feel safe around us. Bonnie doesn’t trust easily and we don’t have the four weeks it will take for her to trust us.” Caroline said to Stefan while still looking at Bonnie.

“Stefan and I would never hurt you or Damon. Even though you just met us you feel safe around us. Do you understand?”

“I feel so safe around you.” Bonnie said.

“Invite us back home with you so Stefan can help Damon with the house.” Caroline said.

“You know what, Stefan would you mind helping Damon with the house? He needs it and he is too proud to ask for help.” Bonnie said turning to Stefan.

“Sure Bonnie.” Stefan said bewildered.

Caroline let go of Bonnie’s hand as the Dark haired girl approached the booth.

“Here’s your order, sorry it took so long.” She said handing Bonnie a brown paper bag.

“Thanks.” Bonnie said to the girl as she stood from the booth. “I was just headed up to the house; this could be a great opportunity for Damon to meet Stefan.” Bonnie said to Caroline.

“That’s a great idea, we could give you a ride.” Caroline said standing up to stand beside Bonnie.

“Let’s go.” Bonnie said heading for the door.

Stefan grabbed Caroline’s arm and kept her from following Bonnie.

“How did that happen?” Stefan asked.

“I don’t know. But it proves that she is not a witch anymore.” Caroline said.

“How is that possible? That’s what you were talking about in the car, wasn’t it?” Stefan asked.

“I don’t know but that is not the only weird thing that happened.” Caroline answered.

“What are you talking about?”

“Patience Stefan.” Caroline said mischievously.

“Are you guys coming?” Bonnie asked from the door.

Stefan let go of Caroline and followed her to join Bonnie out the door.

 *******************************************************************************************************************

Damon was polishing the railing on the staircase. He was dressed in the same T-shirt and jeans he had been found in. They were the oldest clothes he had. Once they had settled in at the university with Bonnie, they had used his first paycheque to buy new clothes for themselves. Everything in his wardrobe was new and he had needed to find work clothes.

He and the contractors had been working on the house over the past four weeks and the house was getting closer and closer to achieving that glory that Damon had known it had lost. The back and front lawn had been the first things that the landscaper had worked on. Gone were the Brazilian forests that Bonnie had been so afraid of and in their place stood beautifully manicured lawns with fragrant flower beds. The creation he was most proud of was the cobblestone path in the middle of the front lawn that begun from the main gate and ended at the foot of the front porch. During the day the colourful flowers planted at either edge of the footpath accentuated the ‘S’ it formed and at night the mini lanterns on either side of the footpath lit up so that the prominent ‘S’ was still visible in the dark. The landscape artist had thought it would be a great idea to design the path after the ‘S’ of the Salvatore name. Damon, of course had had no complaints.

The artistry of the front lawn however, did not end at the foot of the porch. The steps to the front porch were surrounded on each side by lavender Hidcote which were not only beautiful but fragrant. The edge of the house boasted a colourful flowerbed that circled the entire house. Some of the flowers planted there were tulips, Aquilegias, a butterfly bush that the landscaper had promised would look great as it grew, purple lilacs and Dahlia American dawn. Most of the flowers were just blooming but even in their primary stages their colours contrasted beautifully with the green of the front lawn.

The front porch had also received a make-over. The rotten floorboards had been ripped out to be replaced by Ipe decking. After the new flooring had been installed a swing set had been put in on the right side of the porch and the left side was occupied by a grey coloured double daybed. Damon had only agreed to that because someone had insisted Bonnie would love it.

The huge door that once had peeling paint had been replaced with mahogany double doors. The only thing that remained of the old door was the outrageously huge knocker that Bonnie hated. Damon had insisted that it be placed on the new doors just to annoy Bonnie.

The work on the outside of the house had taken about two days but most of the time had gone into the work done on the inside. The floors to the entire house had been ripped out as well and replaced with dark wood floors. All the rooms now had dark wood flooring except for the bathrooms which all had ceramic tiles and curb-less showers. That’s where most of his money had been spent. He had wanted to created luxury bathrooms not only for his and Bonnie’s bedrooms but for the entire house. All the bathrooms were now equipped with showers that had multiple jets and for the bathrooms with bathtubs the old tubs had been replaced with jetted tubs.

The staircase had been worked on last and was Damon’s project. He remodelled the stairs to look like the old staircases of Tuscany. The stairs were made from dark wood and the railing was made from mahogany which he was currently polishing. He couldn’t wait to see how it shined once he was done. He dipped the rag he was using in the tub of polish and rubbed more of the substance onto the railing. He was pleased with how the house had come together; he hoped Bonnie would be pleased too.

 ****************************************************************************************************************************

Bonnie stepped out of Caroline’s car and stared at the house in front of her.

“Well this is not what I had expected at all.” Bonnie said to herself.

“What’s that?” Caroline asked beside her.

“Nothing, I just expected it to be creepier, I guess. Granted the neighbourhood still makes my hair stand on edge but Damon really knew what he was talking about. Just don’t tell him I said that.” Bonnie said still staring at the lovely lawn inside the new steel gates.

Bonnie walked through the open gates and beckoned Caroline and Stefan to follow her. Caroline quickly followed Bonnie while Stefan stood outside the gate admiring the pattern made by the footpath. He smiled in spite of his anxiety.

“Stefan are you coming?” Caroline asked.

Stefan turned away from the view and followed Caroline through the gates.

Bonnie walked on the cobblestone path as she admired the many flowers that lined the edge of the footpath. She was smiling widely as she reached the porch which is where her smile disappeared once she saw the knocker. She glared at it much as she had done the first time they had come to see the house. Caroline and Stefan finally caught up to her at the door.

“Do you have a problem with the door?” Stefan asked amused.

“No, just the knocker and I know he left it there just to annoy me.” Bonnie said.

“How long as he lived in this creepy neighbourhood?” Caroline asked.

“Not long.” Bonnie said.

“It’s not creepy Caroline it has a story to tell.” Stefan said.

Bonnie turned around and looked at Stefan.

“I think you and Damon might get along after all.” Bonnie said.

“Why do you say that?” Stefan asked.

“That’s exactly what Damon said when we came to look at the house.”

Bonnie sighed and glared disdainfully at the knocker one last time before she used it to knock on the door.

Stefan and Caroline heard footsteps come down the stairs and approach the door. They watched in anticipation as the door opened.

“Bonnie.” Damon said. “What are you doing here.” He said smiling and opening his arms for her.

“Hey.” Bonnie said as she hugged him. “I hate that knocker and you know it.”

“Oh come on Bon Bon, it has character.” Damon said smiling.

“You left it there because you knew I hate it. Just out of spite that’s why you left it there.” Bonnie said walking past him and into the house.

“I did a lot that you would love too.” Damon said nodding at Caroline and Stefan. He left the door open for them and went in search of Bonnie.

Caroline and Stefan took that as their cue to come in. Caroline tried to get her foot through the front door but it wouldn’t budge. Stefan who was still reeling from the shock of just seeing his brother didn’t notice.

“We can’t go in.” Caroline said.

“What do you mean?” Stefan asked

“I mean we’re vampires.” Caroline said.

“The house must be under Bonnie’s name.” Stefan said.

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Caroline said.

“If it was under Damon’s name we would be able to walk through. We just have to wait until Bonnie invite us in.” Stefan said to Caroline.

Caroline looked at Stefan not fully convinced because she knew a part of the story that Stefan didn’t.

“Where are your friends?” They heard Damon ask Bonnie from the kitchen. They heard footsteps approach so they stepped away from the door.

“What are you guys still doing outside? Come on in.” Damon said.

Caroline stepped forward as Stefan grabbed her arm.

“You know that won’t work.” Stefan whispered.

Caroline shrugged off Stefan’s hand and approached the door and walked through and turned to watch the shock register on Stefan’s face.

“Stefan!” Caroline said.

Stefan stepped through the door waiting for the barrier to prevent him from walking through. Once he was inside the house, he looked up to see Damon watching him with a puzzled look on his face.

“Are you ok there buddy?” Damon asked.

“Yeah, sorry.” Stefan said. “I was admiring your work.”

“I had help, at least for that part.” Damon said pointing to the doorway.

Stefan smiled and turned around to close the door behind him. He swallowed hard and blinked twice once he had his back turned. His mind was still reeling. He turned around once he had composed himself.

“I know blondie here, we met after the play, but I don’t think I have ever met you before.” Damon said still looking at Stefan.

“That’s quite a memory.” Caroline said softly.

“I never forget a face.” Damon said in reply as he turned back to Stefan.

Stefan stepped forward and offered his hand to Damon.

“Oh yeah, Stefan S…” He was about to say Salvatore when he remembered the S design on the footpath. “Stevens.” He said instead.

“Isn’t that a bit of a repetition?” Damon asked. “Stefan is Steven in English isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I had weird parents. Don’t know what else to say.” Stefan said laughing to hide his discomfort.

“Ha…” Damon said. “Well, kitchen’s this way.” He said leading the pair to the kitchen.

Once Damon had turned his back, Caroline turned around and mouthed “Stevens? Seriously?”

Stefan shrugged as he followed an unamused Caroline into the kitchen where Bonnie was busy unpacking the food she had bought at the Quad.

“Sorry guys, Damon here hasn’t gotten round to buying dishes not to mention furniture so I am trying to mix everything equally in the four containers they packed the food  in so we all get a meal.” Bonnie said.

“This is a great house; it looks like my family boarding house.” Stefan said to Damon.

“Thanks. Bonnie didn’t think so when we got it. Where are you from?” Damon asked.

“Mystic falls.” Stefan said as he turned to see Caroline looking at him suspiciously.

“Don’t be fooled Stefan, this house didn’t always look this great.” Bonnie said.

“Admit it Bon Bon, it looks better than the houses on the cosy neighbourhood across the street.” Damon said jumping to sit up on the counter. “I had foresight and you didn’t.”

“You have to admit Bonnie, it does look great and that front lawn is absolutely gorgeous.” Caroline said.

“See even blondie agrees with me.” Damon said pointing at Caroline happily. “Oh and wait till you see the bathrooms, they’re to die for.”

“You always were a modern bathroom kind of guy.” Stefan said quietly.

“What?” Damon asked.

“My brother used to love modern bathrooms. You should have seen his bathroom it had a tub, off brown tiles and everything. The house is pretty old so that’s saying a lot.” Stefan said hurriedly.

Caroline looked at him and narrowed her eyes as if telling him to keep it together.

“Now that’s my kind of guy.” Damon said appreciatively.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at Damon and turned around to smile at Stefan.

“Stefan can help you with the remaining renovations around the house.” Bonnie said.

“This is a safe place Stefan, you can admit it if she forced you into it.” Damon said smiling at Stefan.

Bonnie put one of the containers on the counter and used her free hand to slap Damon’s shoulder. Stefan smiled when he saw Damon trying to get away from Bonnie.

“I volunteered. I’ve worked on something like this with my brother. I don’t mind.” Stefan said. “I can see you’ve worked on most of the house, what’s your plan for the walls and the ceilings?” Stefan asked.

“I’m thinking of repainting the whole house and putting in new light fixtures. All the walls need a fresh coat of paint except in the bathrooms which are tiled.” Damon said glancing at the high ceilings.

“What colour do you intend on painting my room, I really hope it’s not some maudlin colour?” Bonnie asked.

“Scratch that, we will be repainting every wall except Miss Picky’s here.” Damon said seriously.

Stefan and Caroline laughed as Bonnie turned to glare at Damon.

“Don’t worry; I’ll help you paint your room.” Caroline said remembering when they had helped repaint Elena’s room when they were kids. The only difference is that they would know what they were doing this time round.

“Don’t you have class or something what kind of hours would you be available?” Damon asked Stefan

“I have a bit of free time on my hands and nothing to do.” Stefan said.

“Thanks man, I would hire someone to do it but I splurged on the bathrooms.” Damon said.

“Food’s ready, Damon where’s the best place to eat, now that you don’t have furniture?” Bonnie asked Damon seriously.

“Actually we have patio furniture on the back porch. Complete with a table. Guess we can eat there.”

“When did you get that?” Bonnie asked.

“It was a full package deal when the landscaper made the backyard habitable.”

“Great. Damon please wash your hands and how many times do I have to tell you to stop working on the house with that ring.” Bonnie said.

“I keep forgetting.” Damon said twisting the ring around his finger.

Stefan watched amazed as Damon removed it from his finger and placed it on the counter. There was so much he wanted answered but this was not the time.

“Guys could you help me carry out the food?” Bonnie asked.

Bonnie voice shook Stefan out of his reverie and he stepped forward to help her carry the food. He then looked behind and watched Damon wash his hands in the sink as he followed Bonnie and Caroline out to the porch.

Damon joined them a few minutes later with his hands freshly washed. He picked up one of the containers and took a bite of the food.

“This is good.” Damon said.

Stefan was distracted by something but it definitely wasn’t the chicken. Damon wasn’t wearing his ring and the sun was shining directly on him. Stefan waited and waited for his brother to combust but he didn’t. There was no rationalizing that.

Damon was human.

 ******************************************************************************************************************************

They had spent the rest of the day with Damon and Bonnie and it had just been like old times except that Bonnie wasn’t trying to keep evil at bay with her magic and Damon wasn’t itching to murder anyone. They were unbelievably human. They had spent the day with two human beings whose only problems were which colour to paint the living room.

He and Caroline had not spoken since they had gotten to the car. They each needed to sift through the events of the day. Stefan more than Caroline, and Caroline was letting him do that. She understood that he needed answers.

“What happened to them?” Stefan asked.

“From what I could gather when I found out, is that they both can’t remember who they were before.” Caroline said.

“That doesn’t explain why Damon is human.” Stefan said.

“When I figure that out, I’ll let you know.” Caroline said. “What I did find interesting is the person who helped them get their life together after they were found.”

“Who’s that?” Stefan asked.

“Dr Theodore Caldwell.”

“Who is he?”

“I don’t know, he doesn’t seem to be connected to us in any way.”

“Why is he important?”

“He’s hiding them, he created false identities for them and even created a whole life that doesn’t involve Mystic falls.”

“He wouldn’t do that unless…”

“He knew who they are, which is why he is important.” Caroline said.

“We need to stay close to them and figure out what he wants.” Stefan said.

“Agreed. He could be dangerous. I’ll let Elena and the others know…”

“No!” Stefan interrupted.

“What do you mean no?” Caroline asked turning away from the road to look at Stefan.

“They don’t need to know, not right now anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t you get it Caroline, they’re happy. Damon and Bonnie are happy. Bonnie doesn’t fear for her life and Damon isn’t bogged down by his regrets.”

“Damon has no regrets.” Caroline said.

“You’d be surprised what Damon hides with sarcasm and humour.” Stefan said looking out the passenger window, remembering a time before this one. “I haven’t seen Damon this happy since 1864.”

“We know Stefan, the rest deserve to know too.”

“Do you know why you found them Caroline? Because you were looking for them.”

“I wasn’t looking for them when I came to Tonmore, I was checking out the school.” Caroline said.

“I didn’t mean that literally Caroline. I meant that we found them because we are the only ones that didn’t move on.”

“You moved on.” Caroline said bitterly.

“I didn’t, I was stuck. I was trying to forget the best way I knew how and that meant leaving everyone behind. It worked for a while until you and Enzo found me.”

“Not everyone moved on.”

“You and I didn’t. Elena lost her memories so that made it easier for her, Jeremy got over it and applied to Art school, Tyler got scouted and got the scout to take Matt with them, even when Alaric was helping look for Damon he still fell in love.”

Caroline remained silent before something dawned on her.

“What do you mean Tyler got scouted?” Caroline asked.

“You didn’t know? Tyler and Matt are headed for the NFL.

Caroline turned to face the road.

“That’s what I mean Caroline. What did we do? You became obsessed with lifting the traveller’s spell off of Mystic Falls and finding Bonnie. It was your only mission and when everyone wasn’t as determined as you were, you got offended and blamed them, so people stopped talking to you. Which explains why Matt and Tyler didn’t tell you about the scout. You didn’t want anyone to move on. I got bogged down by guilt and when trying to find them didn’t work I tried to forget. You were going to run away to Tonmore University. Caroline Forbes running away that’s a first.” Stefan leaned his head against the headrest as he closed his eyes.

“You know what else is a first? Stefan Salvatore trying to kill himself.” Caroline said quietly.

Stefan remained silent for a few minutes before he said, “People found ways to move on that didn’t involve us and we got left behind. Telling them about Damon and Bonnie would just open old wounds. Matt and Tyler definitely won’t leave on Monday when they find out, Jeremy will drop out and come back and there’s the whole situation with Elena. And do we really want to drag Bonnie and Damon back to all that drama?”

“What are you saying Stefan?”

“I’m saying let’s figure out what Dr. Caldwell wants?”

“Then what?” Caroline asked.

“Then let Damon and Bonnie be.”

“Are you asking me to not have a relationship with my best friend? Don’t you want to see Damon?”

“That’s just it Caroline, we already have a relationship with Bonnie and Damon. They know us now, we can drop by anytime. Damon doesn’t stop being my brother because he doesn’t know he is and the same applies to Bonnie and you. Our relationship with them is intact but they don’t need to come back to Mystic falls.”

“But…” Caroline tried to object.

“They have the opportunity to live the lives that were snatched away from them. They have an opportunity to create better memories and live better lives than they ever could while they were in Mystic Falls. Can you imagine living a life unencumbered by the memories of Katherine, Klaus or hunters?  Can you imagine? I know you know whatever I am saying is true or you wouldn’t let me say it.”

Caroline didn’t reply and Stefan didn’t speak again. They spent the rest of the drive home in silence.


	15. Mr & Mrs Salvatore (Bonus Chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the bickering!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> This is a Bonus Chapter. Consider this an unaired episode of some sort. Just to get you through Easter :-)

“I don’t like it.” Damon Said

“What’s not to like its huge and it’s modern?” Bonnie asked.

“It’s missing something.” Damon replied.

“Really? Please enlighten me.” Bonnie said sarcastically.

“It lacks character and sophistication.” Damon said staring at the king size bed in the furniture section of Stanton Mall.

“It’s a bed Damon, you’re going to sleep on it not have philosophical conversations with it.” Bonnie said in frustration.

“No wonder you talk in your sleep, you haven’t learnt how to have a relationship with your bed.” Damon said turning to face Bonnie.

“How do you even know I talk in my sleep?” Bonnie asked puzzled.

“The hospital, I came to check up on you one night and there you were talking.” Damon said.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him.

“Who even has a relationship with their bed?” Bonnie asked throwing her hands up in the air.

“People who sleep soundly through the night.” Damon replied with a smirk.

“Damon we’ve been here for hours, could you please just pick one of the gazillion beds we have looked at already?” Bonnie pleaded.

“I’m sorry that sounded like you rushing me.” Damon said.

Bonnie just widened her eyes in absolute astonishment.

“Need I remind you Bon Bon of the hour we spent looking at living room furniture because you couldn’t decide which sofas would go better with the living room walls.” Damon said his voice getting louder towards the end of the sentence.

“Excuse me, it’s not my fault this store has sofas that come in so many colors.” Bonnie said defensively.

“They were all purple.” Damon shaking his hands for emphasis.

“No they weren’t. One was patriarch, the other was eminence and the other was a shade of amethyst.”

“Those are not colours, they’re words.” Damon said closing his eyes in frustration.

“How colour blind are you?” Bonnie asked putting her left hand on her hip.

Damon threw up his hands in frustration and walked away from a bewildered Bonnie.

“Hey! Where are you going? You haven’t picked a bed yet.” Bonnie said following Damon.

 

********************************************************************************************************

_Across the Aisle_

“What are those two arguing about?” Stefan asked Caroline as he came to stand beside her.

“The better question is what haven’t they argued about? First they couldn’t decide on the sofas because Bonnie wanted a particular shade of purple and Damon thought they all looked the same, then they couldn’t decide on which curtains they wanted so Damon tried to compromise by naively suggesting that they pick blinds instead to which Bonnie responded to by storming off.”

“Wow!” Stefan said.

“They are now arguing over beds. Damon can’t decide which one he wants and Bonnie can’t see what all the fuss is about.” Caroline said

“So, what have they bought?” Stefan asked frowning.

“Nothing!” Caroline said as she threw the pan she was admiring back on the shelf.

“I see.” Stefan said nodding.

They both turned to watch and listen to Bonnie and Damon bicker over a carpet.

 

*****************************************************************************************************************

Damon stopped walking when he got to the carpet section. He bent down and ran his hands through one of the brightly coloured carpets that had caught his eye.

“Absolutely not.” Bonnie said coming to a stop behind him.

“I didn’t say anything.” Damon said

“There’s no way we’re buying that carpet. Its polyester.” Bonnie said crinkling her nose.

“What’s wrong with polyester Bonnie?” Damon said rolling his eyes.

“It’s polyester.” Bonnie said as if it should be obvious.

“When did you become so bourgie?” Damon asked turning around to look at Bonnie puzzled.

“Bourgie? This coming from the man who couldn’t just buy a simple shower head, no, you had to have multiple jets.” Bonnie said smiling widely.

Damon got up and stood in front of Bonnie.

“It doesn’t matter what the rug is made out of, we’re still going to trample on it.” Damon said

“Glad to hear that, so we can now choose a carpet that’s better quality.” Bonnie said walking over to the hand-woven rugs section.

“Oh for the love of God.” Damon said for the umpteenth time that day.

 

**************************************************************************************************************

“I always love it when the Salvatores come shopping.” A lady with a Stanton Mall T-shirt said as she rolled up a trolley filled with kitchenware next to the shelf Caroline had been admiring.

“What?” Caroline asked a bit confused.

“I mean Mr and Mrs Salvatore over there. I saw the two of you looking at them. They’re more entertaining than some of the shows on T.V these days.” The lady said gesturing to Bonnie and Damon.

“Um, who are you and how do you know them?” Stefan asked the lady

“Oh, I just work here and they come in once every week even before they bought Salvatore manor.” The lady said.

“Everyone in this town seems to know they moved. How did that happen?” Stefan asked.

“I’m sure it wasn’t intentional on their part but when somebody buys a house that hasn’t been lived in for 40 years, the locals are bound to talk.” The lady said.

_“What’s wrong with this colour now?” Damon said loudly that Stefan was convinced the whole mall heard him._

“Those two bicker like an old married couple.” The lady said laughing. “Last week they couldn’t decide what cooking oil is better, this week its furniture, God only knows what they are going to argue about next.”

“You know some days I am really convinced they are never going to make it as a couple and then some days they make me ship them so hard, as my daughter would say. Like when he carries all the shopping and never lets her pay for anything. Or when he looks badly at any man who even glances at her direction or just when he looks at her when she’s not watching.” The lady said sighing

“Ha!” Stefan exclaimed as Caroline stared blankly at the lady.

“There’s this one time some thief tried to grab her bag as she was leaving and she took off her wedges and hit him on the head with them so hard that he fell unconscious. Of course the cops had to be called but when Mr Salvatore over there came to pick her up everyone could tell he was proud of her. He never said it to her, not that I know of anyway, but he beamed with joy once one of the cops told him what happened.” The lady continued.

Caroline could not believe what she was hearing. It was the second time since she’d found Bonnie and Damon that someone had referred to them as a couple.

“You know in my opinion, bickering isn’t a certificate of assurance that people love each other, I think in fact it’s quite the opposite.” Caroline said.

“It’s not the bickering sweetheart, it’s how they bicker.” The lady said to Caroline as if talking to a small child. “Those two bicker without malice. They challenge each other they don’t put each other down. It happens when two strong, independent people get together. I don’t know much about those two personally but I do know that they won’t let each other get away with bullshit. Sometimes that’s the strongest foundation to lay a relationship on. In that relationship,” the lady said pointing at Damon and Bonnie, “none of them as put the other on a pedestal. They consider themselves equals hence the bickering because they both think they’re right.” The lady said laughing. “They just haven’t learnt how to compromise, once they do they’ll figure out that they are each other’s halves.”

 “How haven’t they learnt that if you said they were married?” Stefan asked.

“Oh they’re not. We just call them Mr and Mrs Salvatore round here but you can bet your sweet ass those two are definitely getting married. We even have a pool going.” The lady said enthusiastically.

“Excuse me, did you say you are betting on whether or not they’ll get married?” Caroline asked bewildered.

“On no sweetheart. Everyone knows they’ll get married. We’re betting on the when and where.” the lady said winking mischievously.

Stefan started laughing as Caroline gaped at the lady in shock.

“Ok, I think we’ve known those two longer than any of you, so I can guarantee you those two are never getting married. They bicker because they hate each other plain and simple.” Caroline told the lady.

“Honey, sometimes you need an outsider to point out what the insiders can’t see.” The lady said as she started pushing her trolley onto another aisle.

“Can you believe that lady?” Caroline asked turning around to face Stefan.

“I can’t believe I never saw it!” Stefan said.

“Don’t tell me you’re buying that? We both know Bonnie and Damon can’t stand each other.” Caroline said.

“That was before, Caroline.” Stefan said.

“It doesn’t matter! We’ve both seen Damon in love and that isn’t how he behaves. He’s obsessive when he’s in love.”

“Yes Caroline, he was obsessive both times but I never thought it was healthy.” Stefan said quietly

“I might not have approved when they got together but Damon and Elena did love each other.” Caroline said.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, I’m just saying that neither of them can remember each other now.” Stefan said. “Maybe it’s time both of them moved on, don’t you think?”


	16. Secrets and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My web of lies is crumbling, it was so stable! It was supposed to protect them, can’t they see? Why are they digging? Why are they looking for the very thing that I am trying to protect them from? What have I done? Was it a good decision or was it a bad one? I cannot decide. All I know is that I did it for love. It was to cushion you and to protect them. Can’t you see? Stop clawing through the web, stop!! All is lost, my wall of lies has crumbled! We have ruined each other!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys,
> 
> So much has happened since Easter, we got a few new readers which is great, hey guys (Waving frantically) and also the news about Nina Dobrev leaving TVD was finally confirmed by the star herself. (Warning: this is going to be a long note) I didn't even know there were rumors of her leaving!! Most of the time I don't comment on such issues but the reaction from the fans especially from some of the fandoms has me rethinking the expression 'mental stability'.
> 
> TVD is not the first and neither will it be the last show to lose a lead character. One Tree Hill survived and so did ER when Clooney left and I truly hope TVD will too. Nina Dobrev has earned the right to 'explore other options' or focus on her 'movie career'. It doesn't matter how you feel about Elena the character or Nina as a person but I am sure we can all agree that she deserves a Grammy for bringing Katherine Pierce to life.
> 
> In the words of Elena Gilbert (from this chapter) 'I’m going to miss her but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.' So let's all hug Nina Dobrev and help her finish packing. She gave us 6 years and Katherine Pierce and for that we should always be grateful!!! 
> 
> Ok I'm done. Enjoy the chapter!

Alaric Saltzman was sitting in his Whitmore office looking out his window. There were students walking by his window not that he could see any of them, he wasn’t really looking at them. He was staring at something in his past, a memory.

************************************************************************************************************

2011

_“You’re here. About time!” Damon said. He was seated on the steps inside the tomb._

_“You didn’t have anyone else to call?” Alaric asked walking past Damon._

_“Actually, I don’t.” Damon said standing up. “I need a non-vampire to get into the cave and other than Elena, you’re pretty much the only one I trust.”_

_“Well you have a crappy way of showing it.” Alaric said turning around to look at Damon._

_“Look, if Mason Lockwood can get over the fact that I killed him, could you cut me a little slack Rick?” Damon asked scrunching up his face in frustration._

_“I shouldn’t have to get over it, I was your friend Damon, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.” Alaric said._

_“Well sometimes…” Damon said moving closer to Alaric, “I do things I don’t have to do…”_

_Alaric smiled slightly as he looked at Damon in amusement._

_“You’re going to recycle that same crappy apology you gave Mason Lockwood?” Alaric asked._

***************************************************************************************************************

Alaric began laughing alone in his office.

“Damon, you’re an idiot.” He said out loud.

“You know you can talk to me about him right?” Jo asked from the doorway of his office.

Alaric turned around to look at his fiancée startled. He hadn’t heard her walk up and for an original vampire that was saying a lot. He looked at her fondly as she leaned against the doorway.

“About who?” Alaric asked smiling

“The guy you just called an idiot in absentia.” Jo said smiling back at him. “Even if you hadn’t mentioned him, I still would have known it was him. You always get this wistful look on your face when you’re thinking about him and sometimes you burst into laughter when you think you’re alone.”

Alaric smiled widely at Jo.

‘How did I get so lucky?’ Alaric asked himself as he beckoned for Jo to come into the office. Jo did as he asked and walked into the office. She settled herself on the edge of his desk. Alaric took one of her hands into his and kissed the back of her left hand.

“Tell me something about him.” Jo said looking at him fondly.

“He was a dick.” Alaric said smiling.

“So why do you laugh every time you reminisce about him?” Jo asked ruffling his hair with her free hand.

Alaric looked up at Jo and took a few minutes before he answered her.

“He was a dick but he was my friend.” Alaric said silently.

“You see that’s what I don’t understand, from what I’ve heard you guys were so different.”

“If you don’t understand that, you are going to flip out when I tell you how we came to be friends.” Alaric said smiling mischievously.

“Oh I can’t wait to hear this, how did you come to be friends?”

“Well I was trying to kill him but instead he killed me.”

“What?” Jo said in shock.

“It’s a long story. The long and short of it is this. We weren’t that different. We were both dealing with our grief in different ways he was murderous and I was killing vampires. All that just to forget that we were hurt, left and betrayed by the women we loved. He was obsessed with finding Katherine and I was obsessed with finding the man that I thought killed Isobel. We were not that different. After a few attempts to kill each other we finally found common ground in a bottle of bourbon.” Alaric said wistfully.

I’m sorry about your drinking buddy,” Jo said kissing the top of his head, “but I really doubt that finding solidarity in a bottle of bourbon is the foundation of a healthy friendship.” Jo said sceptically.

Alaric burst out laughing.

“I think Damon would like you.”

“Oh yeah, why?”

“You’ve got sass.” Alaric said.

Before Jo could answer Alaric, Elena burst into the office.

“They’re lying.” Elena said rushing to sit in one of the chairs opposite Alaric’s desk.

“Hey Elena.” Jo said turning to face the dark-haired girl who looked agitated.

“They’re lying!” Elena said again completely ignoring Jo’s greeting.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know we already had this conversation and had concluded that ‘they’ I don’t even know who ‘they’ are, are lying. The best way to tell a story is to start at the beginning. Who’s they Elena?” Alaric asked as Jo sat in his lap.

“Stefan and Caroline.” Elena said.

“Do I actually need to ask what you’re talking about? It would go so much faster if you just told us what you were talking about.” Alaric said amused.

“Yes. You’re right. I haven’t seen Caroline in a while, so when I found her in our dorm room this morning, I was pleasantly surprised. I was busy suggesting how we should hang out because we haven’t done that in a while when I finally noticed that she was packing.”

“Where was she going?” Alaric asked.

“Naturally, that’s the first question I asked. So Caroline tells me about how hard it’s been for her since Bonnie died and that she finally got a project that would help her get through it. You know Caroline and projects, so of course I am all for it.”

“That doesn’t quite explain the bag.” Jo said

“So she tells me that the project is for the drama club and that it requires her to be away from Whitmore for a while.” Elena says answering Jo’s question. “I understand that, of course I do. I’m going to miss her but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. I hug her and help her finish packing.”

“How is that lying and where is Stefan in this story?” Alaric asks running a hand through his hair.

“I’m getting to that. The story doesn’t end there. After a teary goodbye and a few classes later I decide it’s been a bit too long since I talked to Matt so why don’t I see how he’s doing and that’s where the story gets complicated. You see Matt has been doing a lot of favours for Stefan lately. Which is weird because since when did Stefan start talking to people, last I checked he was being a dick. Anyway, Stefan can’t go back to Mystic Falls for obvious reasons so he asked Matt to bring him Damon’s mangled car.”

“What do you mean bring him?” Alaric asked.

“Oh yeah, apparently Stefan lives about 5 miles from Mystic Falls these days. Who knew? Anyway Matt brings Stefan the car because he’s just cool like that and when he delivers the car, guess who he finds at Stefan’s?”

“Caroline?” Jo asked

“Yes. Give the doctor a gold star.” Elena said sarcastically

“Man, Damon really did start rubbing off on you.” Alaric said softly.

“What?” Elena asked.

“I’m just saying that Caroline and Stefan hanging out is nothing new.” Alaric said clearing his throat.

“I know that, the problem with that information is that I thought or rather Caroline told me she had spent most of her time with the drama club, that’s not the only strange thing because last I checked Caroline and Stefan weren’t on speaking terms. Not only was Caroline at Stefan’s house, Matt said she was reading a lot of witch books.”

“Maybe they made up. Friends do that all the time.” Jo said.

“Have you met Caroline Forbes? The girl can hold a grudge. I would have probably explained this all away except for what happened today.” Elena said standing up to pace around the office.

“What happened today?” Alaric asked.

“Caroline was at Stefan’s today. She went there after she told me she was going on a drama trip or something. Matt says she was there with her bags and everything.” Elena said.

“Maybe she was saying goodbye Elena.” Jo said.

“That would be a viable argument if I hadn’t called three hours after she was supposed to have left, how long do you need to say goodbye? Anyway, Matt also said that from what he had seen Stefan had packed a bag too.”

“What was Matt doing there?” Alaric asked.

“Stefan needed another favour. He wanted Matt to bring him something. He couldn’t remember what it was so I figured that Stefan compelled him to forget. Before Matt leaves he sees Stefan and Caroline leave. Stefan in Damon’s newly fixed car and Caroline in her car.”

“Maybe Stefan is taking Caroline to her drama thing?” Alaric asked sceptically which earned him a look of total disbelief from Elena.

“Maybe they’re dating.” Jo said carefully.

“Caroline wouldn’t hide that from me; I already know she has feelings for Stefan. I found out when I planned that swim hole party. Caroline practically told Stefan she loved him and he was a dick to her, that can’t be it.” Elena said.

“Maybe they found something that could bring Bonnie and Damon back, although I don’t know how they would have found that, I tried everything.” Alaric said.

“Why wouldn’t they tell us or at least you? Weren’t you the one sending the clues and leads anyway? Bonnie, yes, Damon I could care less whether he comes back or not.” Elena said.

Alaric cleared his throat and tried to understand that Elena did not have any good memories of Damon.

“Elena maybe they are just trying to shield us from getting hurt again. It was so hard for everyone to move on once we couldn’t find them. Maybe they just want to make sure it works first.” Alaric said.

“I don’t know Ric. I feel like they’re hiding something more and I need to figure out what that is. After I finished talking to Matt, I decided to call Stefan. I asked him whether he was with Caroline and he told me he hadn’t seen all day. If they had found something there is still no need for him to say he wasn’t with Caroline. There’s more to this story” Elena said finally sitting back down.

“What do you plan on doing Elena, they could be halfway to wherever they’re going by now.” Alaric said.

“I know exactly where they are. Caroline has a tracking app on her phone. We downloaded it together. Me Caroline and Bonnie so that we could always keep track of each other and that we would always know where each one of us was.” Elena looked sad for a moment remembering that she couldn’t find Bonnie even if she wanted to. “This brings me to the reason why I am here. I need to borrow your car, mine’s in the shop.”

“Elena I am sure when they find out something they’ll let us know.” Alaric said still trying to hold on to the hope that they had indeed found a way to bring Damon and Bonnie back.

“If what you’re saying is true and they’ve somehow miraculously found a way to bring back bonnie, I want to be part of the plan. I am going to confront them, they have to tell me what they are hiding.” Elena said.

Alaric sighed and started looking through his drawers to find the car keys. Once he found them he tossed them on his desk. Elena grabbed the keys and was out of the office before Alaric could say anything else.

 ************************************************************************************************************************

“Hey Caroline?” Elena asked Caroline as she walked up to her at the gas station they had stopped at.

Caroline turned around startled.

“Hey Elena. what are you doing here?” Caroline asked trying to laugh.

“I was about to ask you the same question since you were supposed to be on a drama trip.” Elena said shoving her hands into her coat pockets.

“What?” Caroline asked looking past Elena to see Stefan walking out of the convenient store. “I was just getting gas.” Caroline said smiling widely.

“You were always a terrible liar Care.” Elena said. “What’s Stefan doing here?”

Caroline looked at Stefan and knew he had heard every word. Before Caroline could reply Stefan vamped over and broke Elena’s neck.

“What the hell?” Caroline exclaimed.

Stefan just lifted Elena’s limp body and started walking towards Ric’s car.

Caroline still flabbergasted started running after Stefan. Stefan loaded Elena’s body into the driver’s seat of the car.

“Call Matt.” Stefan said to Caroline once she had gotten closer.

“What are you doing Stefan. This is crazy.” Caroline whispered.

“Why are you whispering? She can’t hear you. Call Matt.”

“And say what? Stefan broke Elena’s neck?”

“Call Matt tell him to come pick Elena up. We’ll compel him not to ask questions or say where we’re going. Which is what we should have done before we left, I just didn’t think he would talk to someone that quickly.”

“Are you serious?”

“Caroline, can we talk about the fact that Elena found us.”

“She probably talked to Matt.”

“That doesn’t explain how she knew we were here.” Stefan said gesturing around the gas station.

“How should I know…” Caroline stopped midsentence and started fiddling with her phone.

“Don’t say it.”

“Tracking app.” Caroline said sheepishly. “I had forgotten it was there.”

“Would you please just call Matt?” Stefan asked closing the door to Ric’s car.

Caroline sighed and started dialling.

“Hey Matt” Caroline said.

************************************************************************************************************************** 

Matt approached the gas station and started looking for Caroline. His steps quickened once he saw Caroline and Stefan standing next to Alaric’s car with a very unconscious Elena sitting in the driver’s seat.

“What the hell happened?” Matt said once he was close enough.

Stefan stepped in front of him and looked directly into his eyes.

“Elena fell asleep in the car and Caroline and I didn’t want her to drive back alone. Caroline and I are leaving now but you won’t remember that or in which direction we are going. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Matt said.

Stefan handed over the keys and headed towards Damon’s car while Caroline hugged Matt goodbye. Stefan was halfway to the car when he remembered something and turned back to Matt.

Once again he made sure Matt was looking directly at him before he said,

“No matter what happens when you drop off Elena, you and Tyler need to leave like you were supposed to.” Stefan said.

“Stefan what are you doing?” Caroline asked

“Today’s Monday Caroline. Matt and Tyler are leaving today. After Elena wakes up and starts talking they won’t leave unless we make them.” Stefan said softly.

“Matt, do you understand me? You and Tyler should go to the NFL. Do not check back until you are done with try-outs and are guaranteed a spot. Have fun, live a little and give it all you’ve got. Just remember you can do it.” Stefan said.

“Tyler and I will leave the moment I drop Elena off.” Matt said

Caroline found she couldn’t hold back her tears.

Matt walked up to Ric’s car and moved Elena to the passenger seat. He got in and drove away while Stefan and Caroline watched.

“That was nice of you Stefan.” Caroline said once the car was out of sight.

Stefan started walking to Damon’s car before he finally said, “He deserves it.”

Caroline nodded and started for her car.

 ***********************************************************************************************************************

“Dude what’s the rush?” Tyler asked Matt as he hurriedly threw some clothes into his bag.

“It’s the NFL man, the quicker we get there, the faster I know whether it won’t happen for me or it will.”

Tyler stopped packing and looked at Matt.

“I’ve got faith in you man. You just have to believe in yourself.” Tyler said placing his right hand on Matt’s left shoulder

“You know what, for the first time, I actually do.” Matt said smiling. “Now, could you pack faster, we need to get out of here.”

“Alright, alright, we’re going.” Tyler said laughing.

 *******************************************************************************************************************

Elena woke up alone in her dorm room. By that time Matt and Tyler were already on a bus headed to their destination. Elena looked around the room trying to find out what was happening before it dawned on her. Then she started laughing.

“They actually broke my neck. Now I really want to know what they’re hiding.”


	17. The Barbeque

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions, Panic, Fear and Drama what more are barbeques made of?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For my readers whose comments encouraged me to keep going and for Syeira whose very first comment is the reason this story has a chapter 17 :-)

Today

“Damon did you get the steak like I told you to yesterday?” Bonnie asked opening the freezer.

“No.” A dishevelled Damon said as he walked into the kitchen. “I may have forgotten or gotten drunk. I can’t exactly remember.”

Bonnie crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at Damon.

“I texted you like 10 times when you guys left, how could you have forgotten? Oh I know you went out with Stefan and forgot all about it didn’t you?”

“Maybe.” Damon said sheepishly.

“I’m starting to re-think this whole Stefan situation.” Bonnie said turning back to the fridge to get the ingredients she needed to make a potato salad.

“Ok first of all, Miss you don’t forget things, you love Stefan and don’t even try to deny it. Second of all weren’t you the one who said that hanging out with Stefan was making me a more tolerable person? Thirdly, that ship sailed when he gave me that Chevy Camaro convertible because I am never going back to a life without Stefan!” Damon said smiling.

Bonnie shook her head in amusement as she carried the ingredients to the kitchen counter. “Speaking of your boyfriend, where is he?” Bonnie asked.

“Passed out on the couch.” Damon said smiling widely.

*******************************************************************************************************************************

Yesterday

Caroline parked her car in the lot next to the Chevy. She walked to her boot, got her bags and followed Stefan into their motel room. Once she was in the room, she scrunched up her face and practically threw daggers at the drab interior décor.

“Remind me again, why we couldn’t just drive up here every day?” Caroline asked Stefan

“Caroline, how are we supposed to keep an eye on this Theo guy from 10 states over?” Stefan asked throwing his bag onto the bed.

“I hate this; don’t even get me started on the germs that are festering in these sheets.”

“I’m sure you will figure out a way around it Caroline.” Stefan said amused.

Caroline ignored him and looked disdainfully at the mustard coloured duvet.

“Eww.” She said. She was itching to scrub something with a lot of disinfectant just by looking at it.

“Could you murder the bed sheets later, maybe after we drop off the car?” Stefan asked walking out the door. He stood outside the door and waited for Caroline to finish murdering the sheets. Eventually Caroline dropped her bags on the bed and followed Stefan.

#####

“Hey guys?” Bonnie said once she had opened the front door. She hugged each of them in turn once they had entered into the house.

“I thought you would still be in school Bonnie.” Caroline said hugging her back tightly.

“Oh yeah, I finished class early today. I am also sleeping over tonight because of the barbeque tomorrow. You guys are coming right?” Bonnie asked leading them into the newly furnished living room.

“We wouldn’t miss it.” Stefan said following Bonnie and Caroline.

Once he was in the living room he looked around and whistled. He had been in the room since he and Damon had painted the walls. The only thing that looked the same was the walls. Caroline had decided to furnish the house for them after the shopping fiasco. He smiled as he remembered the conversation they had had with the lady at the store.

“It looks great, doesn’t it?” Bonnie asked smiling broadly. “I’m so glad we listened to Caroline, otherwise we’d still be bickering over carpet designs.”

Stefan laughed as Caroline grimaced remembering the shopping trip.

Looking around the room Stefan concluded that Caroline needed to start a career in interior design.

“You really do have an eye for this stuff.” Stefan said beaming at Caroline.

“You should see the rest of the house.” Bonnie said.

Stefan nodded looking at the huge flat screen T.V placed just above the fireplace. ‘That is definitely something Damon would buy’. He thought.

“Where’s Damon?” Stefan asked sitting down in the grey L-shaped sofa.

“He should be down any second.” Bonnie said.

A few minutes later Damon appeared in the living room and practically beamed when he saw Stefan.

“Hey.” He said as Stefan stood up to hug him while Caroline and Bonnie watched them embrace amused.

“It still amazes me how quickly these two hit it off.” Bonnie whispered to Caroline who was seated next to her on the other sofa in the room.

“You have no idea.” Caroline whispered back.

“Blondie.” Damon said as he bent down to kiss her on the cheek.

‘Oh yeah, we do that now.’ Caroline thought. ‘I don’t think I am ever going to get used to Damon not being a dick.’

“We were in the neighbourhood and we thought we’d stop by and I’m glad we did, otherwise I would never have seen this.” Stefan said gesturing around the room.

“You should see what she did to the other rooms.” Damon said. “It’s simply a work of art. She didn’t even use that much money.” Damon said beaming at Caroline.

Stefan looked at Caroline and estimated that most of that cost had been reduced by compulsion.

“Damon can give you a tour of the house later right now he needs to go get the steak for tomorrow.” Bonnie said looking at Damon

“Oh yeah, do you mind?” Damon asked Stefan.

“No.” Stefan said getting up from the sofa.

“Caroline how about girls’ night?” Bonnie asked Caroline

“Oh yeah.” Caroline replied laughing.

####

“This car is a beauty, what I wouldn’t do to own a car like this.” Damon said running his hands over the body of the car for the millionth time.

“Actually, it’s yours.” Stefan said.

“What?” Damon asked in shock

“I thought you and Bonnie might need a car to get to Tonmore every day.” Stefan said looking at his brother.

“Bonnie doesn’t even live here.” Damon said.

“She might if it was easier to get to school.” Stefan said hopefully.

“Nah, she wants to have the full campus experience.” Damon said making quotes in the air with his hands.

“I’m sure she can still have that when she lives here.” Stefan said.

“Why do you want Bonnie to move in so badly?” Damon asked eyeing Stefan curiously.

“You’re the one living in a creepy neighbourhood alone; at least if she’s here you won’t be lonely.” Stefan said looking at anything other than Damon.

“Didn’t know you cared.” Damon said with a smirk.

“Do you want the car or not.” Stefan asked

“Of course I do but I can’t accept this.”

“Yes you can.”

“What about you?”

“I have a car and a motorbike, I don’t need this one.”

“What kind of bike?”

“A triumph.

“You have taste my friend.”

“I can’t take the credit for that one, someone very close to me bought me that bike.” Stefan said looking at Damon.

“I can’t believe you’re giving me a car. Are you guys rich or something?” Damon asked still not convinced.

“You could say that.”

“Aww, Stefan! Are you trying to buy my heart with expensive trinkets?” Damon asked sarcastically. “Seriously, you need to at least let me pay for this.”

“Absolutely not, I don’t need the money.”

“Where are you staying?” Damon asked realizing rather belatedly that he had never asked where Stefan was staying.

“Umm in a motel downtown.” Stefan said puzzled.

“Ok. I’ll take the car if you move out of the motel and live here for the duration of your stay.” Damon said.

“What, we don’t want to impose.” Stefan said.

“Imposing, we wouldn’t even know you were here. The house is so huge we could stay out of each other’s hair comfortably and I am sure Blondie isn’t happy about that motel judging by the way she furnished our house. Anyway, you practically live here on most days.” Damon said smiling enigmatically.

“Ok. You have yourself a deal.” Stefan said. “Now, are you going to take this baby out for a spin or what?” Stefan asked tossing the keys to Damon.

“Oh hell yes.” Damon said catching the keys with his left hand.

####

That night they drove all over Stanton until all the shops were closed. Seeing as they wouldn’t be able to buy the steak, the boys decided to go to the nearest pub and challenge each other to a game of darts. They ordered bottle after bottle of bourbon and kept playing darts until they couldn’t see straight. A few bottles later or about a 100 Stefan drove a blacked out Damon home and carried him into the house. After throwing Damon on one of the sofas, Stefan collapsed into the other.

“Happy Birthday brother!” Stefan whispered before he too blacked out.

******************************************************************************************************************************

Today

The three musketeers were in Theo’s living room, or rather two of them were. Each of them was sipping a cup of coffee as the professor educated them on the basics of magic.

“What do you mean it’s a spell, how does that work?” Viral asked from his usual spot on the flat screen.

“It means that witches must have cast it, although I have never heard of a spell that has this kind of effect before.” Hilary said.

“Do you mean Bonnie cast it on herself?” Theo asked.

“Not likely. It must have been her grandmother.” Hilary said.

“Why would her own grandmother, do this to her?” Viral asked.

“I keep forgetting you don’t know the whole story. Bonnie was the anchor to the other side. Once the other side started crumbling down and disappearing it meant that Bonnie was going to get destroyed with it. From what I heard, Sheila didn’t want that for Bonnie so she made a deal with some witches and I suppose whatever spell she cast is what saved her. Why she would choose to save Damon as well is a mystery. Witches and vampires do not get along.”

“Ok, just hold on. What’s the other side?” Viral asked

“It’s a sort of purgatory for supernatural beings.”

“So everyone on the other side is dead?” Theo asked.

“Yes.”

“I thought you said Bonnie was the anchor to the other side, if that is the case shouldn’t she have been dead.” Viral asked

“Yes and no.” Hilary said. “For the other side to exist the witch who created it needed to bind it to something so she bound it to a human being. Anchors are like the doors between worlds. She existed on both worlds.”

“That doesn’t sound like fun at all.” Viral said.

“It’s not!” Hilary said. “That girl must have suffered a lot. First she lost her grandmother and then that.”

“What do you mean she lost her grandmother? I thought you said her grandmother is the one who cast the spell.” Theo asked

“Yes, she did, from the other side.” Hilary said. Seeing that both her students were still confused she tried to simplify matters. “When the other side still existed witches could still talk to their loved ones. The other side was basically a mirror world of the world we live in, they could see us hear us but they can never talk to us or touch us. With magic, anyone could talk to their dearly departed family members. That’s how witches would keep communicating even after they were dead.”

“That’s creepy.” Viral said looking around himself.

“You don’t need to worry anymore; the other side was destroyed so it doesn’t exist anymore.” Hilary said looking at Viral in amusement.

“You’re saying that Bonnie’s grandmother cast the spell to save her?” Theo asked.

“Yes. In my opinion I think she was trying to save her from more than just death. I think she wanted bonnie to start over which still doesn’t explain the Damon situation.” Hilary said puzzled.

“What kind of spell did they cast? Is it permanent?” Theo asked.

“I don’t know yet. None of the witches I have spoken to have ever heard, let alone practiced this kind of spell. A friend of mine arranged for me to meet someone who might know something about this spell. He is flying in from New Orleans.” Hilary said.

“New Orleans, that’s far.” Viral said.

“I know but it is one of the richest hubs for magic, I should know I am from there but that’s a story for another day.” Hilary said.

The silence of the room was broken by the buzzing sound of Theo’s phone.

_Hey Theo,_

_I hope you’re still coming for the barbeque. We’d love to have you. See you at two? –Bonnie_

“I have to go to Bonnie and Damon’s at 2pm today. They’re having a barbeque. I think everything is still ok with them so the spell is still intact.” Theo said as he wrote a hurried reply to Bonnie.

“I’m more worried about Stefan.’ Viral said “Especially now. There was a breech in my system so a few things have been offline which means we may have missed his movements over the past month. Everything is ok now so I’ll start monitoring him again, starting with what we may have missed.”

Theo rubbed his hands over his face and sighed.

“You two need to remember that vampires are dangerous.” Hilary said with concern.

“Is it possible to kill a vampire?” Theo asked

“Yes it is, assuming you can get close enough and even then you have to make sure you take it by surprise otherwise you’ll be dead before you can blink.” Hilary said

“How do you do it?” Theo asked. He really wanted to know. If there ever came an opportunity where he needed to he wanted to know. For Kerry

“Stake through the heart.” Hilary said matter of factly. “Make sure the stake goes through the heart, if you miss you die.”

Theo gulped.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, I thought vampires couldn’t walk in the sun or is that just an urban myth?”

“They can’t. They only reason Stefan and Damon could do it must be because of Bonnie. You need a witch to create a ring that can protect you against the rays of the sun. Although that raises the question of how they walked around in the sun before she came along aren’t they more than a 100 years old? There’s so much to this story that we do not know.”

“How could Bonnie help someone who murdered her father?” Theo asked perplexed.

“That reminds me, what does Stefan do to these people when they commit crimes. How come Stefan has never been convicted of all these crimes? How come these people never come forward?” Viral said.

“It’s called compulsion, which reminds me,” Hilary said rummaging through her bag. Once she had found what she looking for she held up the tiny jar containing clear fluid.

“What’s that?” Theo asked eyeing the jar curiously.

“It’s called vervain, it’s the only herb that can protect you from being compelled. Hold out your cup of coffee.” Hilary said.

“Why? There are no vampires here.” Theo said.

“Yet. Once you get involved in vampire business there’s no going back, it tends to follow you around. How will you get yours?” She asked Viral.

“I’ll send someone.” Viral said.

“Ok then.” Hilary said pouring a bit of the fluid in Theo’s cup.

“I need to go meet with this witch, let’s meet back here in the evening ok?” Hilary said putting the jar back in her bag and standing up.

“Yeah sure.” Theo said.

“Fine by me, I’ll look through my eye in the sky and see whether we missed anything and keep you guys posted.” Viral said

********************************************************************************************************************************

“Hey Sheriff Forbes?” Elena said into her phone.

“Hey Elena. Is everything ok. I haven’t heard from Caroline in a while.” Liz said

‘Thank God’ Elena said to herself. To Liz she said, “Actually Caroline wanted me to ask you something. Did you by any chance install a tracking device on Caroline’s car?”

“Elena is everything ok?” Sheriff Forbes asked concern slipping into her voice.

“Nothing’s wrong. We sort of had a long night and forgot where we parked the car.” Elena said scrunching her face sheepishly even though the sheriff couldn’t see her.

“Did you girls go out last night? Isn’t it a school night?” sheriff asked.

“Sort of.” Elena said

After a silence that lasted long enough for Elena to assume the sheriff had hung up she heard the sheriff sigh.

“Fine. Give me a few minutes while I check. Hold on.”

Elena jumped up and down in triumph and listened as she heard the tapping noise of a keyboard being used.

“What the hell were you girls doing at Tonmore University?” The sheriff asked

“That’s where the party was.” Elena said shrugging

“Anyway, the car is still in Stanton. It’s parked on a street opposite Old Miller’s lane. It looks like a neighbourhood. Are you sure you girls don’t need any help?” The sheriff asked

“No sheriff, we’ll just go get the car it shouldn’t be that hard.” Elena said grabbing the keys to Ric’s car and heading out the door.

“Ok could you please tell my daughter to call me sometime soon?” Liz said

“Sure thing sheriff thanks again.” Elena said as she got into the car.

She threw the phone on the passenger’s seat and started the car. She put in Stanton into the GPS and reversed like a bat out of hell out of the parking.

*******************************************************************************************************************************

Viral rubbed his eyes as he sifted through the footage. He yawned again and rubbed his eyes.

“I need a cup of coffee.” He said out loud

He grabbed his keyboard and told the computer to look for Stefan using facial recognition and to  alert him if he had been seen anywhere near Stanton in the past month.

Once the computer started sifting through the footage, Viral got up with his cup of coffee and went into his kitchen. He grabbed the things he needed to make a sandwich from the fridge and put them on the kitchen counter. Just as he was about to start buttering a slice of bread a beeping noise sounded throughout the house.

“What the hell. That can’t be right,” He said walking back towards his computer.

“Shit.” He said as he saw the image plastered on his screen.

“Oh no, oh no!” He said as he saw the videos multiplying 3,6,10

“This can’t be real; Stefan can’t have been in Stanton 10 times.”

He clicked on the first video and watched as Stefan and a blonde girl approach Bonnie in the coffee shop. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest.

He clicked on the last video that was stamped about two hours ago. Once the video started playing he realized just how screwed they were. He watched Stefan and Damon get out of a blue chevy and into the Salvatore mansion.

“Oh shit!” Viral said as he searched for his phone.

He tripped twice as he raced back into the kitchen and spotted his phone on the kitchen counter. He was practically crying by the time he was dialling Hilary’s number.

********************************************************************************************************************************

“Why do you seem confused by my question?” Hilary asked the man only known to her as Vincent.

“…because no one has performed a spell of that magnitude in decades probably centuries.” Vincent said.

“Why?” Hilary asked

“This spell hasn’t been done since Alice Benson did it. The amount of power and the price that you need to pay for this spell to work is so high that the spell is categorised as a form of expression.

“How is the spell cast?” Hilary asked

“I really hope you are not planning on using this spell.” Vincent said

“Of course. I am asking out of curiosity. I am a professor of occult studies.

“The history of the spell dates all the way back to the Vikings. The spell was cast for someone who was about to die. In the old world Viking witches would cast the spell on enemy warriors, the spell saved their life but ensured that all the memories of their previous lives had been erased. The Viking witches would then brainwash the men into thinking that they were Viking warriors and in some cruel cases they would be sent out to conquer their own tribes. Here’s the catch, those witches would only use the spell during a time of war is because the spell requires a soul sacrifice and a blood sacrifice for it to work.”

“What do you mean a soul is required for the spell to work?”

“I mean just that. A soul must be sacrificed in order for the spell to work. The soul binds the spell which is why it is considered black magic.”

“Does this spell have any side effects on the people it is cast upon?”

“Not that I know of but it has dire consequences on the witch who casts the spell.”

“But why did the Viking witches perform the spell if they knew there would be consequences?”

“They didn’t.”

“But you just said…”

“The Viking witches would prepare the ingredients needed for the ritual and they would draw any symbols that were required but they never chanted the spells themselves. They left that to their ancestors. Their ancestors on the other side. Once they started doing the magic one among them would disappear.”

“Why would they disappear?”

“It would mean that a soul has been taken. People who are trapped on the other side are basically souls trapped in purgatory. In those days they considered that sacrifice a sort of absolution that would free them from the other side. Of course the other side doesn’t exist anymore, so the only way that spell would be cast is if a witch were willing to sacrifice her soul for another.” Vincent said

“I see.” Hilary said finally realizing what Sheila had done for her granddaughter.

“Are you ok Professor Mason?” Vincent asked

“Yes. Normally spells have a loophole, does this one have one?”

“Eventually the Vikings figured it out. When they sent out the converts to conquer their own lands they soon discovered that the spell would begin to unravel. The trigger is when the covert came into contact with people from his previous life that recognized him. Like every spell it took time to unravel and in some unfortunate cases the converts would remember what had been done to them and sought revenge.”

“Does the spell work on supernaturals?”

“You really don’t know the story of Alice Benson? Vincent asked

“Isn’t that supposed to be an urban legend?”

“No its not. It’s the truth. The story of a witch who sacrificed herself for the vampire she loved. It’s practically a bedtime story in New Orleans. Alice Benson was kicked out of her coven for falling in love with a vampire in 1918. The vampire she fell in love with had been turned during his time in the army when a vampire in their ranks had convinced them it was the only way they were going to survive the war. It was a well-known fact that the vampire in question often longed to reverse what had be done to him. He yearned for his humanity. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Alice Benson caught the Spanish Influenza sometime that year. Once she knew there was nothing that could cure her of the disease she decided to make one last sacrifice for the man she loved. Alice went humbly before her coven and convinced them that she would like to atone for her sins before she died by killing her vampire boyfriend. She asked that in return they let her channel their power in order to try and heal herself if she could.

The coven agreed and Alice lured her boyfriend to the cemetery the next night and proceeded to stab him in the heart. The wooden stake did not immediately pierce his heart but every time he breathed the stake would inch closer and closer. She needed him to die slowly or otherwise the spell would not work. The witches convinced that she would hold up her end of the bargain let her channel their magic. By the time they all realized what she was doing it was too late for them to stop her. Once the spell had been finished Alice convulsed and died while her vampire boyfriend’s body disappeared. He was found two days later unconscious. When he woke up he had no memory of what had happened and who he was. Once the witches realized what sort of spell Alice had cast and that the former vampire was human, they moved him out of New Orleans and made sure no one from his past life would ever recognize him. The spell hasn’t been since then of course.” Vincent said.

They were interrupted by the buzzing sound of Hilary’s phone.

“Hello?” Hilary said into the phone.

“Where the hell are you? We have a problem!” Viral shouted into the phone frantically. “Get to Theo’s now.”

Hilary looked at Vincent apologetically.

“Thank you for the information but I need to go apparently there is a crisis.”

“Sure, it was nice to meet you.” Vincent said as he watched Hilary grab all her stuff from the table.

“Professor?” Vincent called after Hilary’s retreating back. When Hilary turned he said,

“Please remember that the spell only remains intact if the person never meets or interacts with the people they’re supposed to leave behind. No one knows for sure what could happen once the spell unravels. We don’t know enough about the Vikings to know whether it affected them mentally.”

Hilary nodded and turned to walk away thinking about what Vincent had told her.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

“Damon really knows how to renovate a house! My God this lawn should be on the cover of Homes and Gardens.” Theo said out loud as he walked up the footpath toward the house. He was so distracted by the artistry of the footpath that when his phone rung he dropped it.

“Damn.” He cursed as he bent down to pick up the battery and back cover of his phone. By the time he had put his phone back together and turned it on, he was standing on the front porch of the house. He was about to knock when his phone started ringing.

####

“Stefan!” Damon called as he flipped the meat patties on the grill. They were all out in the backyard preparing for the barbeque except Bonnie who was taking a shower.

“Yeah” Stefan answered from the picnic table where he was helping Caroline set the table.

“I think I left the beer in the car, could you get it?” Damon asked

“No problem.” Stefan answered as he headed toward the house.

####

“What?” Theo said trying to understand what Viral was shouting on the other end of the line. He was still standing on the front porch.

“Run! Run damn it!” He finally heard what Viral was saying but by that time it was too late.

Before Theo could do anything he saw the front door swing open to reveal the monster from his nightmares. There in front of him stood Stefan Salvatore.

“Can I help you?” Stefan asked

Theo was too stunned to come up with a response.

####

 

“Where the hell is Stefan? I thought you sent him to the car?” Caroline asked Damon as she checked her watch and realized that Stefan had been gone for more than 15 minutes.

“I did.” Damon said puzzled.

“What’s taking him so long? I need him to put up this umbrella.” Caroline said as she started walking back into the house. She stopped dead in her tracks once she got to the foyer.

“What’s going on?” Caroline asked when she noticed that Stefan was holding onto a terrified man by his collar.

“Guess who I found? Dr. Theodore Russell Caldwell.” Stefan said reading it from what appeared to be his driving license. “How nice of you to drop by and make things easier for Caroline and I.” He finished looking at Theo.

Caroline heard the shower being turned off and knew that Bonnie would be down in a few minutes.

“Ok Stefan, we don’t have time for this now. Can you just compel him until the barbeque is over?” Caroline said sternly.

“Yeah, I did.” Stefan said

“Then why does he look like he’s about to pee on himself?” Caroline whispered loudly

“He ran, I caught up to him.”

“You mean, you suddenly appeared in front of him and scared the shit out of him.” Caroline said looking at Stefan as she crossed her arms across her chest.

“I don’t even know why he was running. If he had played it cool, I wouldn’t even have known who he was.” Stefan said defensively

Caroline sighed and bowed her head in resignation.

“I guess you didn’t learn about vampire speed when you were learning about Vervain huh?” Caroline said to Theo.

All of a sudden Stefan let go of Theo and started rearranging his shirt. Theo was numb with shock by now that he didn’t even flinch.

“Act normal or this won’t be a pleasant barbeque for you?” Stefan whispered in his ear and stood back beaming at him.

Just as Theo was about to wonder whether Stefan was suffering from some form of bipolar, he realized what had made Stefan change his demeanour.

“Dr. Caldwell! I’m so glad you could make it.” Bonnie said coming down the stairs. Theo smiled up at Bonnie and hoped that when she got near she wouldn’t notice how badly his hands were trembling.

“I see you’ve met Caroline and Stefan.” Bonnie said putting her arm through his. “Guys, this is Theo, Damon and I owe him a lot. I don’t know what we would have done without him.”

‘Yeah I bet!’ Caroline said to herself.

“Damon’s out back, we should really go make sure he hasn’t burnt anything.” Bonnie said smiling widely at Theo.

As Bonnie led Theo to the back porch they heard a knock at the door.

“That must be Sam and the guys.” Bonnie said as Stefan walked back to open the door.

“Hello Stefan.” Elena said

Stefan stared at Elena while Caroline covered her face with her hands having heard Elena’s voice.

‘This is not going well.’ Caroline said to herself.

“Who’s at the door?” Bonnie asked

Stefan realized there was no turning back the moment he saw the recognition dawn on Elena’s face.

“Bonnie? Is that Bonnie?” Elena asked Stefan trying to push past him.

“Elena, you can’t get in.” Stefan whispered

“Why the hell not?” Elena asked furiously

“It’s Bonnie’s house.” Stefan said

Stefan opened the door wide so that Elena was now visible to everyone.

“This is my friend Elena,” Caroline said quickly before Elena could open her mouth. “She had nothing to do today so I invited her, I hope you don’t mind?” Caroline said smiling sheepishly at Bonnie.

“What?” Elena said

“Yeah sure. The more the merrier. Come on in Elena.” Bonnie said smiling broadly at her.

Elena looked at Bonnie puzzled wondering what kind of game they were all playing. She walked through the door and was just about to go to Bonnie when Caroline beat her to it. She blocked Bonnie’s view by standing directly in front of her.

“Bonnie, why don’t you take Theo out back and the three of us will be with you in a bit.” Caroline said giving Theo a look of warning all the while smiling warmly at Bonnie.

“Sure.” Bonnie said turning to leave with Theo

“What. The. Hell.?” Elena said the moment Bonnie walked away.

“We can explain.” Caroline said sweetly turning around to face Elena as Stefan closed the door.

“Explain?” Elena asked in disbelief. “There is no…”

“Stefan I didn’t know I left the beer in Venezuela when I sent you to get it.” Damon said sauntering into the room. “Why are you all standing here?’ Damon asked looking at each one of them in turn.

“Are you kidding me?” Elena practically shouted

“Wow, that was loud. Who’s the girl?” Damon asked looking at Elena

“Excuse me?” Elena asked

“This is my friend Elena, we’re having a bit of a situation, would you mind giving us a minute?” Caroline asked Damon while taking him by the shoulder, turning him around and pushing him out of the room.

“You are aware that this is my house Blondie aren’t you?” Damon said trying to resist Caroline and failing miserably because for some reason she was really strong.

“Ok fine.” Damon said holding up his arms in surrender. “Solve your high school drama. Is this by any chance connected to Stefan? Like did they used to date?”

“Oh my God, get out Damon.” Caroline said to a laughing Damon

“Ok. Could you guys at least bring the beer?” Damon said as he finally went laughing all the way back to the back yard.

“I can’t even…” Elena said still in shock that Damon hadn’t seemed to recognize her.

“It’s really a long story Elena and this is not the time to discuss it. Could you wait until this is over?” Stefan asked

“Let me simplify it for you, you two found Bonnie and apparently Damon and didn’t tell anyone. What is wrong with you? Then Bonnie doesn’t seem to know me and I can’t tell whether it’s the same with Damon or he’s just being a dick about it.” Elena said

“This is not good.” Caroline said to no one in particular.

“You think?” Elena asked

Before Caroline could answer, they heard a knock at the door.

“Oh great who else did you bring Alaric maybe so he can punch me again?” Stefan said as he went to open the door.

“Hey, is this where the barbeque is?” Sam Bonnie’s friend asked on behalf of the 10 people standing behind her.

“Yes, it is. Come in. The party’s out back.” Stefan said as he stepped back and pointed toward the back.

Once all the new comers had gone out the back and the vampires could hear the greetings begin, they resumed their conversation.

“Like I said, this is neither the time nor the place. Can this wait until later? I need to get the beer.” Stefan said as he headed out the door.

“When is it supposed to be the right time?” Elena asked amazed at their lack of remorse

“Look Elena, we have about 13 humans out there. One of them knows what we are and the longer we stay here, the longer he’s going to think about escaping since we can’t compel him to behave. The other 2 are our friends who don’t even remember anything and are probably wondering why we’re acting so weird and we would like to postpone that conversation until we’ve figured out half of what is going on here.” Caroline whispered loudly

“What do you mean our 2 friends are human?” Elena said puzzled by Caroline’s statement

“Not the point Elena.” Caroline said rubbing her temples

“You know I can understand Stefan because he was acting like a dick before any of this happened but you. Ohh you. I can’t believe you Care.” Elena said looking at her friend with a hurt expression. “She is my best friend too, you should have told me.”

Stefan walked back into the house with the beer and closed the door.

“Can we all get out emotions in check and just get this over with.” Stefan said looking at Elena then at Caroline. “We can discuss this after.”

 Elena sighed and followed Stefan out of the house.

Caroline waited for them to get to the backyard before she looked at the ceiling and whispered,

“This is going to be the most awkward barbeque ever.”

:-)

 


	18. The Nightmares of Damon Salvatore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, there is no darker place than our own thoughts, the moonless midnight of the mind  
> -Dean Koontz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> Sorry its taken a millennium to put another chapter up.

“That wasn't so bad, now was it?” Bonnie asked Damon as she finished packing away the leftovers.

“It wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be,” Damon said begrudgingly.

“Oh my God, did you just admit to having fun with other people? Hell just froze over!” Bonnie exclaimed clapping her hands in glee.

“Oh shut up! That doesn't mean anything!” Damon said carrying a glass of water as he left the kitchen.

“Have you met you?” Bonnie asked following him out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Damon replied by giving her an exasperated look.

“I took you to a party last month and you couldn't stand to be there for more than 15 minutes.” Bonnie said placing her hands on her hips.

“That party wasn’t that good.” Damon said

“I beg to differ. He got ‘Imagine Dragons’ and ‘Paramore’ to perform at his party - that equals a great party. He even let his friends use his race track for a drag race. I mean c’mon.”

“The guy was just a rich child trying to impress you.” Damon said.

“I don’t care what you say. You are slowly becoming a person who can mingle in society.”

“You're delusional.”

“And you're in denial.” Bonnie said walking out of the living room. “Goodnight.” Bonnie shouted from the staircase finishing that argument.

“Goodnight Bon Bon.” Damon said sitting down in one of the sofas and turning on the T.V

As the T.V came to life, Damon took a sip of the water he had carried with him from the kitchen. He flipped through the channels trying to find something decent to watch.

“Nothing to watch as usual.” Damon said out loud

After several minutes of channel surfing he decided that reading a book might be more fun than watching T.V so he switched it off and made to get up. He didn't make it far because an unbearable pain shot through his head. He clutched his head and dropped to his knees. The pain was as unbearable as it was persistent. He could feel his eyes start to water from the pain. He hadn't felt so much pain, not since that first night at the hospital. He tried calling out for Bonnie but all that came out was a whisper. Soon his body couldn't take it anymore and he passed out.

*********************************************************************************************************************************

“Ok! I'm done with all the secrecy,” Elena said loudly in the silent car. “The barbeque is over and I want to know what’s going on.”

She finished turning to look at Stefan who was driving.

When Stefan didn't immediately reply she looked at Caroline through the rear-view mirror. When their eyes met, Caroline turned away and said nothing.

“It seems I'm going to have to find out for myself.” Elena said unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing over her seat to get to the back.

“What the hell are you doing Elena?” Stefan asked

“He speaks!” Elena said sarcastically as she sat between Caroline and Theo. She grabbed Theo’s face and forced him to look at her.

“What’s going on and who the hell are you?” Elena asked Theo

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Theo replied.

Elena looked at him puzzled.

“That’s not what I asked.” Elena said.

“He’s on vervain Elena.” Caroline said.

Elena let out a sigh of frustration and turned to look at Caroline.

“Care, what the hell is going on and why did we kidnap this guy?”

Her question was met with silence. She was getting tired of the silent treatment.

“Caroline, answer me right now!” Elena practically shouted.

“It’s complicated, ok? I don’t even know where to be…” Before Caroline could finish her sentence, the car came to an abrupt stop, the force throwing Caroline, Elena and Theo against the front seats.

“Stefan, did you just learn how to drive?” Caroline asked rubbing the spot on her forehead where it had been slammed against the driver’s seat.

“I didn’t do anything. We’ve just stopped moving.” Stefan said perplexed.

“Did the car stall?” Elena asked

“No. My foot is right down on the gas pedal.” Stefan said revving the car just for emphasis.

Before Stefan could say anything more, a blonde haired woman appeared in front of the car.

“Hillary!” Theo whispered.

“Wait, you know her?” Caroline asked.

“This is not good.” Stefan said as he changed gears and tried to reverse the car to no avail.

“Let him go.” Hillary said.

“Like hell we are.” Caroline shouted as Stefan locked the car doors preventing Theo from opening his door.

“Let him out, now!” Hillary repeated.

Stefan rolled down his window and said, “Lady, I don’t know who you are but we are not giving you Theo.”

Hillary made no move to approach the car but rather remained in the same spot in front of the car. She continued to stare at Stefan until he cried out in pain and clutched his ears.

“Theo, get out of the car!” Hillary shouted as both Elena and Caroline cried out in pain too.

Theo tried to open the back door but it would not open.

“He locked it! I can’t get out!” He shouted frantically.

Suddenly the door flew off its hinges and onto the road. Theo quickly got out and ran to Hillary’s side.

“Get in the car!” Hillary said leading the way to where she had left her car running.

“How did you…” Theo stammered as he sat beside Hillary in the car.

“I’m a witch. Did you forget?” Hillary said putting the car into gear.

“I thought you were a bit rusty.” Theo said still bewildered turning to look at Stefan through the car’s back window. He still had his hands around his ears.

“I am. Which is why we need to get out of here, the wailing spell is wearing off. The barrier should hold a while longer, well at least until we are safe.” Hillary said as she sped away from the vampires now banging their hands on an invisible barrier.

Elena watched as the silver sedan sped away and turned back to look at Stefan and Caroline.

“Now, you have to tell me what’s going on even if I have to torture it out of you.” Elena said.

*********************************************************************************************************************************

**1918**

_Everyone in the mayor’s house was busy but probably running was the right term for it. As it should be seeing as there was to be a ball at the Mayor’s house that night, it was tradition after all and traditions died hard. The monthly balls had started out as founder’s meetings. In the beginning the founders would meet at the Mayor’s house every month to talk about various areas of development. Soon enough, they had begun celebrating their achievements rather than planning for them and so the monthly balls had begun._

_The townspeople called them ‘the founding visionaries’. When they had first rolled into town, they had bought out the neighbourhood – a total of ten houses – including the Mayor’s house where all their meetings thereafter had taken place. Once they had moved in, they had raised the little town’s standards and eventually it had grown into a bustling cosmopolitan, or as cosmopolitan as a town could get in 1918._

__It was hard for new members to get a seat at the founding table and many had tried but there was only one who had succeeded, Damon Salvatore. However, unlike all the other members, Damon wasn't interested in_ _ _the development of a backward town. He was looking for someone. The easiest way for him to get the information had been to get a seat at the founding table, so he had gotten in. But he had soon discovered something curious. The founding members knew everything and everyone in the town except for the witch. He had tried compelling the information out of them but had not succeeded. It was as if none of the members knew she existed. He had almost resigned himself to the fact that he had been given false information when he had seen the witch for himself._

_He had been going into town when he had seen Miss Penelope Benoist strolling around town with Melissa McCarthy, General McCarthy’s daughter, the man who had gotten Damon a seat at the table. Before he approached, he had wanted to be sure so he had asked a passer-by about Miss Benoist. The answer he had gotten had been confusing to say the least._

_“Excuse me sir. Would you happen to know who the lady with Miss McCarthy is?” Damon had asked_

_“What lady?” Had been the man’s reply._

_So he had asked four different people and their answer had been the same. No one could see her. A spell had been the only explanation. It was the only reason no one could see her and yet it was puzzling because he could see her talking to different people around town and they would greet her as if they knew her, so why couldn’t they remember who she was? So he had followed the two ladies from a distance and when they had gotten to Trout Street, they had disappeared into thin air. He could not hear them or see them._

__There was nothing much he could do, so the next day he had gone to see General_ _ _McCarthy and expressed his interest in his daughter. Then he had bid his time. Watching, waiting, courting. His patience had finally paid off. A few days ago, Melissa had let it slip that her friend would love to meet him. She remembered. He would have found out sooner if Melissa wasn’t always surrounded by people. He had needed to earn hers and her father’s trust. The witch had made a mistake. No one wanted to be lonely even witches who did not want to be found. It was a human mistake._

___With a witch this clever Damon had known he would need to be careful so he had compelled Melissa with small requests just_ _ _ _to see if he could and if her dear friend the witch could tell. He had done it for weeks and it had worked every time. Melissa would visit the witch every Sunday and nothing would happen._

_He had earned her trust and her father’s, it was time he reaped what he had sowed. He knocked on the elegant white wooden door with the brass knocker. He heard footsteps approaching and he stepped back from the door._

_“Mr Salvatore, is the mayor expecting you?” The butler asked._

_“I’m afraid not. I was just at the McCarthy residence and I was informed Miss McCarthy was here.”_

_“Oh yes, she is. She is helping Mrs Franklin with the decorations. Please come in and I shall tell her you are here.” The butler said stepping aside to let Damon in._

_“Thank you.” Damon said walking into the foyer. He didn’t need the invitation he had already been invited in by the mayor when he had first joined the council._

_“Wait here.” The butler said as he went further down the hall._

_Damon looked at the paintings adorning the wall as he waited._

_“Mr Salvatore?” Melissa said coming into the foyer a few moments later._

_“Miss McCarthy, you look as exquisite as always.” Damon said bowing to kiss the back of her hand._

_“Mr Salvatore, your flattery knows no bounds.” Melissa said blushing._

__Melissa McCarthy was a beauty. It was that beauty that had prompted men from all over Stanton to bend her father’s ear with promises of marriage. Even Damon could not deny it but she was spoilt and naïve. A_ _ _trait Damon had used to his advantage. To her, he was just a young millionaire looking for a suitable wife._

_“You deserve much better Miss McCarthy.” Damon said wrinkling his eyebrows._

_“Did I miss an appointment?” Miss McCarthy asked looking at her hand that Damon had not let go of._

_“No. Is it so wrong for me to want to see you?” Damon asked and smiled broadly when she blushed._

_“Tell you what Miss McCarthy. It looks like a beautiful day, won’t you take walk with me?” Damon asked._

_“I would love to but I promised the mayor’s wife…”_

_“I won’t keep you long, I promise.” Damon said in his most sincere voice._

_Melissa looked at him and looked back at her escort._

_“I was hoping we could go alone.” Damon said remembering she had one._

_“Unescorted? You must be out of your mind.”_

_“Don’t you trust me to return you to your father with your virtue intact by now?” Damon asked._

_Melissa hesitated. It was true, Damon had always behaved like a gentleman in the 6 months that she had known him and her father seemed to respect him which was an oddity in itself._

_‘He probably just wants to ask for my hand, he did spend a considerable amount of time with father yesterday.’ Melissa thought to herself._

_She put her hand on Damon’s arm and motioned her girl not to follow them. Damon smiled and led them away from the house. They walked in silence until they were out of the mayor’s compound._

_“Mr Salvatore, it is a lovely day but am I to believe that that is the only reason you wanted me to accompany you?”_

_“You are clever my lady. There is one thing I wanted to ask you. Would you be kind enough to show me where Miss Benoist lives?” Damon asked._

_“I beg your pardon?” Melissa asked bewildered. “What does she have to do with anything?”_

__“Well, you see, she’s the only reason I am here. The only reason I spent 6 months in this quaint little town. She’s a hard woman to find your witch friend. You're the only_ _ _one who knows where she lives. It would have been a lot easier if you were unescorted but you are always surrounded by people. I had to spend a lot of time and money looking for her and I am not in the mood to waste anymore. So Miss McCarthy where can I find Penelope?”_

_“Are you mad?” Melissa asked unlinking her hand and stepping back. She was about to run back to the mayor’s house when Damon grabbed her and spun her around._

__“I've wasted enough time on you, you spoilt little princess.” Damon said grabbing her head._ _

_“Tell me where she lives.” Damon said looking directly into her eyes._

_“She lives on Trout Street, it’s along the river.” Melissa said._

_“I already knew that but there are no houses there. Why can’t I see it? Why do you disappear every time you go there?” Damon said._

_“She’s spelt the house. No one can see it unless they are invited or allowed to. I don’t disappear, it’s just that from a certain point you are not allowed to behold what is beyond.”_

_“So how do I get in?” Damon asked_

_“By invitation.”_

_“How do I get an invitation?” Damon asked curious now._

_“She sends it to you.” Melissa said._

_“How does she do that? Is there a ritual she performs What does she do?” Damon was getting frustrated._

_“She sent me an invitation.”_

_Damon frowned. Could the answer actually be that simple._

_“How do you know Miss Benoist?”_

_“We met in my old hometown. We became good friends so when we moved here, I decided to visit her.”_

_“But how did you know where she lived.”_

_“She sent me a card with her address on it.”_

_Damon started laughing. It was that simple._

_“I see.” Damon said smirking. “Does she write many of those?”_

_“I don’t think so.”_

__“My dear Melissa, I asked for your hand in marriage and I would feel it would be improper to marry you without at least_ _ _meeting your dear friend. Do you understand?”_

_“I understand.”_

_“Could you perhaps ask Miss Benoist to write me an invitation?” Damon asked._

_“Yes.”_

_He had waited this long, he could wait a little bit longer._

_“Now Miss McCarthy, you have been so helpful please forget this conversation. All that you will feel is the terrible need to have Penelope invite me to her house as urgently as possible. Do you understand?”_

_“I understand.” Melissa said._

_Damon linked her hand around his arm and walked her back to the house smiling._

                                                ********

**Present**

Damon regained consciousness and found himself lying outside on the front lawn.

“What the hell.” Damon said as he tried to get up. Once he was sitting upright he looked around and tried to figure out what had happened. He tried to stand up but the pain started all over again. He blacked out.

*********************************************************************************************************************************

“We don’t know how they’re connected. We actually don’t know anything.” Stefan said.

They were still stuck in the barrier in the middle of the road. The barrier did not seem to affect any other motorists. They also seemed to be invisible. It was weird. They would be discussing how strange it was that cars were passing right through them if Elena wasn’t more interested in the Bonnie and Damon story.

“Could someone please start from the beginning?” Elena asked

“I found her or them.” Caroline said leaning her back against the barrier. “I wasn’t looking for them. I came out here with the drama class to watch a play. After the play ended and everyone was headed to the bus, I heard Bonnie. She was laughing.” She sighed. “When I could finally see her, I couldn't believe it.” She said laughing. “You should have seen me running to her. When I got to her though, she didn't recognize me and neither did Damon when he showed up.”

“What do you mean, didn't recognize you?” Elena asked.

“Just that, Elena. They didn’t know me just the same way they didn’t know you at the barbeque. I was as surprised as you so I asked around. Apparently they both have amnesia.”

“How is that possible?” Elena asked

“Trust me, I don't know.” Caroline said sighing.

“How did they end up here?” Elena asked still not buying it.

“I don’t know.” Caroline said while Stefan remained silent.

“All we know is that some girl found them unconscious and called an ambulance.” Caroline said.

“What does this Theo guy have to do with this?” Elena asked.

“We don't know, maybe you could wait until we actually found out something.” Caroline said hotly.

“Oh yeah! Like I expected you to tell me when you found Bonnie? Forgive me if I don’t!”

“Look we don't know, Theo helped them get settled down here and even got Damon a job.” Stefan said moving from the front of his car to stand in front of Elena.

“If you haven't figured it out yet what have you been doing all this time? Maybe bonding with Bonnie and Damon without telling anyone? Namely their friends back home. Me?” Elena asked throwing both Stefan and Caroline dirty looks.

“Care?” Elena asked looking at Caroline as Stefan stepped away from Elena to lean on the car and sigh.

“I didn’t know what to do when I found them.” Caroline said.

“You told Stefan.” Elena said accusingly.

“She told me two weeks after she found them.” Stefan said from his spot on the car.

“Well, you were being a dick.” Caroline said folding her hands in front of her and looking at Stefan with an annoyed expression on her face.

Stefan looked at Caroline and Elena just stared at both of them.

“Why didn’t you tell me Caroline?” Elena asked.

“I didn’t want to give you hope before we found out what we were dealing with.” Caroline said still looking at Stefan; this time for support.

Elena looked at both of them and then said,

“Now what’s the real reason?”

“It was Stefan’s idea.” Caroline blurted out.

“Really?” Stefan asked looking at Caroline defiantly.

Elena started pacing between them as she run her hands through her hair in frustration.

“Caroline we both know you wouldn't go along with anything you didn't believe in yourself.” Elena said silently.

Caroline slid down the barrier and sat on the cold ground bending her knees and bringing them to her chest. She folded her hands and rested her head on them. After a long silence she said,

“She’s happy.” Caroline whispered. “She’s happy. She has a life now. She’s directing plays, going to parties and shopping. She has nothing to fear anymore.”

“She can do that at Whitmore with us, her friends. We don't have to tell her anything dangerous but we can protect her should anything happen.”

“Protect her.” Caroline scoffed while Elena looked at her in surprise.

“We killed her Elena. Bonnie was never in danger before we all turned into vampires.” Caroline said.

“What are you talking about? She’s a witch by definition she is  supernatural.” Elena said as Stefan once again opted to remain silent and let the friends talk it out.

“I don't blame you Elena, I didn't see it too until I found her.” Caroline said remorsefully.

“We didn’t kill her Caroline.” Elena said with conviction.

“Oh yes we did! She lost her grams to bring Katherine back so we could protect ourselves from Damon, she faked her own death because Klaus was after you, we turned her mother so we could save ourselves, she almost died to save you from becoming a vampire and then she actually died to bring Jeremy back. What have we ever done for her Elena?” Caroline asked Elena quietly while Stefan grimaced.

Elena stared at Caroline in shock.

Caroline let out a sigh and buried her head in her hands.

“She’s happy here, even if she’s with Damon.” Caroline mumbled.

“So what happens when Damon starts killing again or have we forgotten what kind of vampire he is?” Elena said looking from Caroline to Stefan.

Caroline looked up at Elena in shock before she remembered that Alaric had compelled away her memories of Damon. She only remembered the bad Damon.

“Haven’t you heard the great news?” Stefan asked sarcastically.

Elena looked at him bewildered.

“Damon’s human now.” Stefan said.

“What?” Elena asked as Caroline exclaimed when she fell flat on her back in the middle of the road and a car screeched to a stop just in front of her head.

“What the hell are you doing in the middle of the road? And where the hell did you all come from?” Shouted the surprised driver.

“Huh! Guess the barrier’s down.” Stefan said.

*********************************************************************************************************************************

**1918**

    _“Mr Salvatore?” Damon heard his name being called and turned around._

_“Ah Melissa darling, you’re just the girl I wanted to see.” General McCarthy said. “I was just inviting Mr Salvatore to your birthday party tonight at the Mayor’s house. I hope you do not mind?”_

_“Of course not father.” Melissa said blushing._

_“Then excuse me, I have business with the mayor before tonight’s soiree begins. Mr Salvatore, always a pleasure.”_

_“Yes General, you as well.” Damon said courteously._

_Melissa and Damon both remained silent as they watched the General walk away. Once he was out of sight, Melissa broke the silence._

_“Penelope would like to meet you Mr Salvatore.” Melissa said with enthusiasm._

_“Oh that’s splendid. When?” Damon said smiling_

_“Anytime. She said to give you this card.” Damon took the card from Melissa and smiled broadly at her. Things were coming along nicely. He would accept the witch’s invitation and go see the witch but first he needed to take care of a few things here. Tonight_

_*****************************************_

_Damon watched as the young ladies streamed into the mayor’s house. He was sitting on the step waiting for Melissa. He spotted her coming toward the house with her escort so he stood waiting for her._

_“Miss McCarthy, could I have a word before the party begins?” Damon asked looking at her escort._

_It was the same escort who had let Melissa go on a walk with Damon two days before. She smiled at Damon and left them. He had earned her trust._

_“Shall we?” Damon asked offering his arm to Melissa._

_There were many people walking towards the mayor’s house for the party so Damon continued walking until they were behind the mayor’s vast property and out of sight._

“ _Mr Salvatore, if you were planning on kidnapping me don’t. I will go willingly.” Melissa said._

_“Oh Melissa I have better plans for you. I have always wondered what kind of vampire you would be. As a human you’re very selfish and you put on a good show but I know for a fact that you treat your servants with total disregard. You’re also very impulsive and don’t take rejection well.”_

_“Mr Salvatore?” Melissa asked frowning._

_“I need to you to do something for me.” Damon said menacingly as his pupils changed from dazzling blue to black._

_Melissa watched in horror as Damon’s bottom eyelids were covered in veins. “Please don’t hurt me.” She whimpered._

_“I wouldn’t dream of it, I’m going to make you better.”_

_Melissa watched wild eyed as Damon bit himself and brought his wrist down on her mouth._

_“Drink.” Damon said_

_Once she had swallowed he broke her neck._

_***_

_“Took you long enough.” Damon said._

_“Your face…” Melissa said scrambling to get up._

“ _Take it easy princess.” Damon said bringing the girl he had been drinking from closer to Melissa._

_“What are you doing?” Melissa asked taking several steps back and away from Damon._

_“Don’t be afraid, she’s delicious.” Damon said coming closer. “I’m trying to feed you, you dumb princess. Now be a good girl and feed, you can’t do what I want you to do if you don’t.”_

_“No, please don’t.” Melissa whimpered._

_Damon grabbed her head and brought it down on the open vein. He smiled as her face changed._

_“It’s always fascinating to watch a new vampire feed, they never want it at first but once they get a taste they can’t stop.” Damon said as Melissa grabbed the girl and finished her off. Once she was done, she let go of her and didn’t bat an eyelid when the limp body hit the ground._

_“I want more.” Melissa said._

_“And there’s that selfishness! In a bit Miss McCarthy, first you need to clean yourself up. We can’t have the birthday girl walking into the party covered in blood.”_

_***_

_Damon was holding onto Melissa tightly. To all the guests he looked as if he were holding her dearly as most young lovers do. He had been right. She was the rabid kind._

_“Gather around everyone, the mayor is about to speak.” Mrs Franklin said._

_“Almost snack time Melissa.” Damon whispered as he watched the mayor approach the centre of the room. He looked around as he watched the people who had been outside walk back into the house. Even the servants wanted to hear what the mayor had to say._

_Damon smiled._

_“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to celebrate a young girl’s birthday. She is the daughter of my friend and probably the most powerful man in this town,” the mayor said as everyone laughed “Miss McCarthy please come stand next to me so that our guests can behold your rare beauty.”_

_Damon smiled broadly as he let Melissa go. He watched Melissa walk toward the mayor. She walked toward him slowly at first and then faster. Eventually she vamped to him and practically tore off his head when she begun feeding. It was so fast that by the time the audience realized what had happened she was feeding on another guest._

__Damon vamped out of the ballroom and locked the guests in. He vamped to all the windows and doors and closed them too. Once he was satisfied that all of them were locked he stood in the foyer and listened to them scream. He was leaning on_ _ _the front door whistling when he saw General McCarthy approaching him._

_“Mr Salvatore, run.” The general said running towards him._

_“Father what are you doing? I didn’t open the door so you could run.” Melissa said._

_“Mr Salvatore, save yourself from the demon.” The general said as he continued running towards him._

_Damon couldn’t help it, he started laughing. Oh how the mighty general had fallen._

_“Demon, is bit harsh don’t you think?” Damon said once he could control his laughter._

_“It is not a joke, Mr Salvatore we must leave.” He said reaching for the door._

_Damon threw him back toward his daughter as his eyes vamped out._

_“You!” The general said in horror staring at Damon._

_“Yes. Me.” Damon said_

_The general turned around slowly to look at his daughter in horror._

_“Melissa?” The general whispered._

_“Don’t fear father. I could never hurt you. I was just a bit hungry.” Melissa said running into her father’s arms._

_The general was too shocked to move. Once he realised what was in his arms he pushed her away._

_“Father?” Melissa asked_

_“Demon.” Her father said._

_“Don’t call me that.” Melissa said harshly._

_“Demon be gone.” The general said reaching for the cross he kept around his neck._

_“Father, stop it.” Melissa shouted._

_“I would listen to her if I were you.” Damon said from behind him._

_As if just remembering that Damon was behind him, the general turned around and stood sideways looking at both of them and waving his cross frantically._

_“Our father who art in heaven…” he begun praying fervently._

_“father, stop that immediately.” Melissa shouted._

_The general continued praying until Melissa had had enough. She rushed forward and broke his neck. Damon watched as the general’s limp body fell to the floor._

_“He wouldn’t stop.” Melissa said once she realized what she had done._

_“There, there.” Damon said opening up his arms to her. Once she was weeping softly on his shoulder, he broke her neck._

_He dropped her body to the floor and went in search of survivors. Once he was satisfied that no one was alive he went into the kitchen and picked a wooden cooking stick. He went back to the foyer and knelt above Melissa’s body._

_“You’ve done a great job, thank you.” Damon said as he stabbed her._

_As she desiccated, he stood up and looked around one last time before he opened the door and walked out._

_*****************_

**Present**

Damon regained consciousness and found himself lying in the middle of the road.

“What is happening to me?”


	19. Limbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it real or is it my imagination? Have I made the right decisions? Can I learn to live with the hardest choice I will ever have to make? What will happen tomorrow, will I still be okay then?

Elena Gilbert had tossed and turned all night. She was disturbed. After the barrier had come down no one had wanted to say anything. Enough had been said already, there was not much else to add. Even though she had been mad at Caroline for even suggesting that they had been the cause of Bonnie's misery and subsequent death, she could not ignore what Caroline had said. She also could not ignore the fact that Stefan had not disagreed with anything Caroline had said. Somewhere amid their bickering and underlying resentment they had found common ground. So she had lay in bed all night thinking about it and as the first rays of sunlight shone through the curtains she knew she would have to talk to Caroline, soon. She burrowed herself deeper into the blankets...but it could wait just a while longer.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Damon was in pain. Every part of his body was screaming in pain as he delicately climbed the stairs to the front porch. He did not want to think about what had happened to him during the night. He could scarcely believe that it had all been a nightmare. It had felt so real. He could still remember every smell and feel every emotion. It had been too real. He opened the front door and walked straight into Bonnie.

 

"Where have you been? I've been calling and looking for you everywhere." Bonnie said.

 

Once she had taken in his disheveled appearance, her tone turned soft.

 

"What happened to you?" 

 

Damon was covered in dirt and his raven black hair had specks of dirt all over it. His clothes did not look that great either. Waking up in the middle of the road would do that to you.

 

"Damon?" Bonnie asked concern slipping into her voice.

 

"I'm not sure." Damon said trudging past her

 

"What do you mean, you don't know? When did you even leave?" Bonnie continued.

 

Before Damon could answer, Stefan came down the stairs and took one look at his brother and knew something wasn't right.

 

"What's going on?" Stefan asked looking at Damon.

 

"As much as I would like to fill you in on the adventures of Damon Salvatore, I would like to take a shower first and maybe sleep for a year." Damon said as ascended the stairs.

 

Once Damon's back was facing them, Stefan turned to look at Bonnie for answers and Bonnie just shrugged turning around to walk into the kitchen as Stefan closed the door.

 

The truth was that Damon had no idea what was happening. Once he got to his room, he took off his clothes and headed to the shower.

 

He stood under the hot stream of water and let it soothe his aching bones. He felt as if he had been run over by a truck and still managed to survive.

 

"What the hell happened?" He asked himself for the umpteenth time. He was slowly coming to the realization that no matter how many times he asked himself that question he would not be able to come up with a satisfactory answer. 

 

He did not remember anything other than an excruciating headache. How had he ended up outside and in the middle of the road? 

 

"Don't fret so much Damon, the answer is simple, you sleep walk. That's the only explanation." Damon told himself.

 

He reached for the bar of soap and tried to block all the other images he did not want to think about. But there was no escaping his own brain. He could wash away all the grime and dirt he had picked up from sleeping on the road but he couldn't wash out the blood or the inexplicable fear that he had been the cause of such a horrific scene. He knew that and yet he scrubbed harder until his body was pink from the effort.

 

He placed the bar of soap back in the holder and placed his forehead on the wall placing himself directly under the hot shower.

 

"It wasn't me, it couldn't be!" He thought to himself. "It was too long ago, I couldn't have been alive back then." He knew that and yet it had felt so real. After leaning on the shower wall for what seemed like an eternity, he shrugged his shoulders and stood upright reaching for the shampoo. 

 

"It was an elaborate nightmare, that's all it was!" He said to himself, this time half believing it.

 

******************************************************************************************************************************

 

"What happened last night after we left?" Stefan asked Bonnie as he watched her pour the coffee she had just made into a mug.

 

"I don't know. I left Damon in the living room when I went to bed. When I woke up in the morning I went to check up on him in his room but he wasn't there. I assumed he had fallen asleep on the couch but when I checked he wasn't there either. All I could see was the glass he had taken with him, which was lying on the carpet. For one second, I thought something bad had happened to him." Bonnie said taking a sip from her mug.

 

"Did you hear anything unusual?" Stefan asked reaching for a cup to pour himself some coffee.

 

"No it was quiet the whole night. Although I did hear you guys come in but that was it." Bonnie said. "Speaking of, did Dr. Caldwell get home ok?" 

 

Stefan looked at Bonnie as he watched her carrying her cup of coffee to the kitchen table.

 

"Umm, yes." Stefan said a second too late.

 

"What? Were there any problems?" Bonnie asked turning away from the magazine she was currently flipping through on the table to look at Stefan.

 

'Well, if you call being ambushed by a witch and getting stuck in an invisible barrier a problem then yes.' Stefan thought to himself but out loud he said, "Just car trouble, nothing to worry about." He said coming to sit across Bonnie.

 

"I haven't seen Caroline or her friend what's her name?" Bonnie said

 

"Elena, her name is Elena." Stefan said somberly.

 

"Did they leave early?" She asked.

 

"No. I'm sure they are still asleep in one or two of the many rooms in this house." He said.

 

"I'm glad you decided to stay here. I'm worried about him, especially now. He didn't look right this morning." Bonnie said looking up at Stefan. "Could you find out what's up with him. I'm only asking because he seems to trust you."

 

"I'll see what I can find out but I don't think its anything to worry about." He said covering Bonnie's hand with his in reassurance.

 

"You're a good friend." Bonnie said squeezing Stefan's hand and smiling at him.

 

Stefan nodded and said nothing further.

 

***************************************************************************************************************************************

"Can we talk?" Elena asked from the door of Caroline's room.

 

Caroline was seated up in bed staring outside the window. Before Elena had interrupted her, she had been busy thinking about how Damon had done a better job at gardening than she ever had.

 

"Can I say, no?" Caroline asked still looking outside her window.

 

"Yes. You could. That doesn't mean I am going to listen to you." Elena said walking into the room.

 

Caroline turned to look at her and let out a sigh. This was happening whether she wanted it to or not.

 

Elena climbed into the bed and sat beside Caroline.

 

"I've been thinking." Elena started as she looked at Caroline who made no response so she continued.

 

"I understand why you did it and maybe it was the right thing to do. I'm the one who had Jeremy compelled to protect him so I guess I understand." Elena said before she took a deep breath and continued. "But I also do not want to lose my best friend. I can't just not see Bonnie knowing she's alive. I still think we can protect her Care."

 

Caroline had heard enough. She could not keep having this argument. 

 

"Protect her? From the supernatural creatures that always seem to be after us?" Caroline scoffed.

 

"Bonnie is supernatural..." Elena said

 

"Not any more!" Caroline said her voice becoming a decibel higher.

 

"I don't want to fight Caroline." Elena said letting out a sigh.

 

"Neither do I." Caroline said calming down. She took her best friend's hand in hers and continued. "I don't know how it happened and we probably we will never know but Bonnie is far from supernatural. Against all logical explanation, Bonnie and for that matter Damon are just human. You haven't seen how happy she is." Caroline said half laughing and crying. "She has these goofy friends who are so normal its exhausting. All she thinks about these days are term papers, exams, credit hours, parties, shopping and boys. Its the life she wanted. Its the life we all wanted. She has that now."

 

"We also wanted to be friends forever." Elena said quietly.

 

"We can still be her friends but not in the way we wanted to. At least its something. We can visit, its better than her being dead." Caroline said wiping a tear away from her face.

 

"Don't you think she has a right to choose for herself." Elena said her voice breaking.

 

"Bonnie never chose the life you want her to go back to either." Caroline said squeezing her friend's hand.

 

"But..." Elena began protesting but Caroline cut her off.

 

"Elena you chose Stefan and Bonnie walked away. I stupidly chose Damon because I wanted to compete with you and we both got ourselves into more than a few problems. When we couldn't solve our problems, Bonnie stepped in for us. But it was always our choices that got us into those problems never Bonnie's choices." 

 

By now they were both crying.

 

"People already know what she is, what if someone comes looking for her?" Elena asked still trying to hold on to the hope that she could win this argument.

 

"Bonnie died, Elena. So far the only people who know she's alive and well are the people in this house and Theo who for all his mystery seems to want to keep that a secret. She's safe. No one will come looking for her and we have to keep it that way." Caroline said.

 

There was a long silence that followed and Caroline could sense Elena's reluctance.

 

"Do you remember when we were kids how we used to go and hide in the tree house at Bonnie's house so we could talk about boys without being overheard by Bonnie's mom? How we used to plan our weddings?" Caroline asked wistfully.

 

"Oh my God, how could I forget? Bonnie wanted to marry a pilot so she could travel the world. That was before she found out it didn't actually work that way." Elena said laughing.

 

After laughing hysterically at their younger selves Caroline turned to look at Elena.

 

"We don't get to have that anymore Elena but Bonnie does. We can't take that away from her, even if it means we won't get to be a part of it." Caroline said softly looking at Elena and squeezing her hand tightly.

 

Elena remained silent as she wiped the tears away. 

 

The best friends sat holding hands in complete silence each lost in their own thoughts. It was Elena who broke the silence.

 

"Ok." She said softly.

 

Caroline just wiped another tear that was running down her cheek because she knew how hard it must have been for Elena to finally accept that fact. It had been hard for her too so she understood.

 

"But I am going to tell Alaric." Elena said.

 

"Elena..." Caroline started

 

"Listen. We need Alaric if we are ever going to learn anything about Theo especially now that he has a powerful witch on his side. Alaric is an original. He is stronger than all of us combined. We need help." 

 

Caroline couldn't argue with that so she begrudgingly said, "Ok. I guess you have a point."

 

"I am also going to tell him because Damon is his best friend and he needs to make the decision we just made for himself." Elena said quietly.

 

It seemed like hours before either of them spoke again.

 

"I am going to miss Bonnie so much once this is all over." Elena said crying.

 

Caroline nodded and turned to embrace her friend. She was going to miss her too.

 

*********************************************************************************************

"Dude it is so good to see you." Viral said looking at Theo.

 

They had not talked much after Hilary had dropped him home. Theo was unusually quiet.

 

"Dude, you're scaring me." Viral said to Theo who was seated on his couch staring unseeingly into his coffee. His mind was far away.

 

"We should be afraid." Theo said.

 

"What do you mean?" Viral asked.

 

"What have we done?" Theo asked still not looking up from his coffee.

 

"We tried everything to make sure Stefan didn't find them." Viral said.

 

Theo just laughed hysterically. Viral looked at Theo and wondered whether he had lost his mind.

 

"Theo, Theo..."

 

Theo just kept laughing oblivious to Viral's panic. Viral was about to call Hilary when Theo stopped laughing.

 

"There are three of them." Theo said quietly.

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"Stefan didn't come alone. There are three of them now. They're all vampires. We are all dead." Theo said still staring at his coffee. 

 

Viral remained silent.

 

"We are going to die a horrible death." Theo said clutching his cup as if holding on for dear life. 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	20. Old Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The worst wounds, the deadliest of them, aren't the ones people see on the outside. They're the ones that make us bleed internally.” 
> 
> \- Sherrilyn Kenyon, Infamous

Stefan looked up as Damon walked into the kitchen. He looked better than he had when he had come home but Stefan could see the bags under his brother's eyes. It was bewildering to Stefan that he could notice such human aspects on his brother. It still hadn't quite sunk in that his brother was now human. He took another sip of coffee from his cup as he continued to scrutinize Damon.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked Damon eyeing him suspiciously.

"Yes, Bon Bon. I'm fine." Damon said as he sat down beside Bonnie.

"You didn't look fine this morning." Bonnie retorted."Do you even remember where you were last night?"

"I went out and lost track of time." Damon said.

Bonnie wasn't buying it. "Did you fall into a ditch too?" She asked.

Damon just rolled his eyes while Bonnie exchanged a quick look with Stefan.

Stefan knew his brother better than anyone else and he could tell when his brother was deflecting. Damon was hiding something. Once Bonnie realized that Damon wasn't going to say anything else, she stood up from the kitchen table and said, "I need to get to school. Damon, don't you have a class today?" Damon sighed and stood up as well.

"Yes, I do. Nothing beats making fun of college brats."

As Bonnie rolled her eyes and Stefan scoffed, Caroline and Elena walked into the kitchen.

"Look who's finally awake." Bonnie said walking over to hug Caroline. "See you later?"

"Wait, what? We just got here." Caroline whined.

"Well, you shouldn't have slept half the morning." Bonnie said smiling. She turned to Elena and said, "Elena, right?" Elena nodded. "I hope you will still be here when I get back, I would like to get to know you better." Bonnie said smiling kindly.

Before Elena could respond, Caroline said, "Oh she'll be here."

Bonnie laughed in response.

" I see blondie is bossy with everyone." Damon said from the kitchen door.

"Hey...I am not bossy." Caroline said and everyone in the kitchen burst into laughed.

"I beg to differ." Elena said when she stopped laughing.

Caroline ignored her and walked to the fridge.

"Ok guys, see you later." Bonnie said as she exited the kitchen and headed straight for the front door where Damon was waiting.

"What she said." Damon shouted from the front door where he was holding the door open for Bonnie. He closed the door light behind them.

"So...what's for Breakfast?" Elena asked sitting beside Stefan. "No chance there is a blood bag in that fridge. I can't believe I just said that and I am talking about Damon's fridge."

"Tell me about it." Stefan said.

"So weird." Caroline said. ******************************************************************************************************************************* "Damon, you do know that I'm not buying that explanation you gave in the kitchen right?" Bonnie asked as she unfastened her seat belt and grabbed her bag from the backseat.

Damon cut the ignition and said nothing.

"I also know you enough by now to know that you won't talk about it until you're ready, so I am just going to say this; I am here for you when you finally want to talk about it. Always."Bonnie said. She did not wait for Damon to respond, instead she opened her door and left.

Damon watched her go until he couldn't see her anymore. He sighed heavily and made no move to leave the car.Its not that he did not want to talk about it, its that he did not know how to explain what he himself could not understand. And he wasn't sure he wanted to understand.

On the one hand, he had convinced himself that what he had experienced was a very vivid nightmare and nothing more but on the other hand, he could not shake this nagging feeling that it wasn't just a nightmare. Deep down he was terrified that he had committed those atrocities. What was he supposed to tell Bonnie. His sweet Bon Bon and his only family. What was he supposed to tell her?

"Hey Bon, you remember that thing that I didn't want to talk about? well, there is a possibility that I might be a murderer. And that's not even the half of it, there is a small chance that I am immortal."

Damon scoffed. Could he really risk it? Could he really risk losing the only family he had? He ignored the tightening feeling in his chest and got out of the car. *************************************************************************************************************************

"How are you still alive? Not that I want you to be dead." Viral said.

They were strategizing. It was the only thing they could do now that they were faced with their current circumstances. They now had three vampires to deal with.

"I can't believe it either." Theo said. "They spent the whole barbeque acting like normal people. It was confusing."

"For the most part, vampires are people, except when they're not." Hilary said from one end of the couch.

"I expected Stefan to be murderous. He didn't act the way I expected him to." Theo said.

"What are you talking about? I, for one, I'm very thankful that Stefan did not go all ripper on you. Before Hilary found you, I thought you were a goner." Viral said.

"When I came face to face with him, I thought for sure I was going to die but it never happened." Theo said turning bewildered eyes to his flat screen therefore looking at Viral and wishing him to understand. Stefan had appeared in front of him almost as if by magic when he had tried to run.

_"Who are you? What are you afraid of?"_

Theo shook his head trying to make sense of the confusion he had seen on Stefan's face. He had tried to run again but of course Stefan had caught him and ordered him to stand still, which he had not done. Instead of just decapitating him, Stefan had gone through his pockets and taken out his driver's license. He hadn't tried to kill him, not even once. And now that he had time to think about it, it didn't make sense at all.

"I'm telling you, it doesn't make sense. Unless, he knows where I live and he intends on coming here to murder me in the privacy of my own home." Theo said suddenly becoming very terrified. He started pacing.

Hilary was staring at Theo. It was the reaction most people would have if they came face to face with a vampire, let alone three. She understood his confusion.

"Theo calm down. You are safe in your own home because he hasn't been invited in. He can't harm you." Hilary said calmly. "And I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we might have bigger problems. In all the confusion of saving Theo, I forgot to tell you guys about what I found out from Vincent. According to him, the spell only remains intact if the people whom it was cast on never reunite with the people from their past."

"Well, its too late for that now." Viral said.

Theo remained silent.

"Which is why we have a problem. You see if Vincent is right, the spell could be unraveling as we speak. Damon and Bonnie would start to remember and there is a high chance they could revert back to their former selves. In Damon's case, this means turning back into a vampire. And if he is anything like his brother, we are in serious trouble." Hilary said.

By the time Hilary finished speaking, Theo had turned as white as a sheet. "Let me get this straight, what you are saying is because Damon has already interacted with his brother, there is a possibility we might be dealing with not only three vampires but four?"

It was a rhetorical question and they all knew it so no one ventured a response.

"How do we stop it?" Viral asked after a few minutes of silence.

"There is no way to stop it." Hilary said. **************************************************************************************************************************** **_2010_**

_Bonnie was trying to deal with a difficult customer. She could scarcely believe that Elena and her had pulled off what Caroline did effortlessly. How Caroline managed to organize the fair every year was beyond Bonnie's comprehension. She was certain that Caroline was something other than human. When she finally managed to calm the customer down in the best Public Relations way she could, she decided it was time she looked for Elena. She headed in the direction of the bathrooms which is where she had last seen Elena. A few minutes later, she found what she was looking for. However, the sight that stood before her wasn't one she had been expecting to see. She was looking at Caroline and she couldn't believe what she was seeing._

_"Caroline..." She said in shock._

_Caroline's mouth was covered in blood and in Mystic Falls that could only mean one thing._

_"But you can't..." Bonnie said moving toward Caroline as Stefan, Elena and Damon watched._

_She grabbed Caroline's hand and her face fell. It was true. Caroline was a vampire._

_"Bonnie..." She heard Caroline say._

_She shook her head and took a few steps back. She was about to leave when she spotted the dead body on the back of the truck behind Elena. She rushed toward the truck and came to a stop right beside it. She sighed heavily when she realized that it was the boy she had been interested in only a few hours ago. She dropped her head on the truck and let the tears fall. She heard rather than saw Elena come closer._

_A few moments later she stepped away from the tuck with tears streaming down her face. She began pacing a few feet away from the truck still not believing what was currently staring her in the face._

_"I can't believe this is happening." She said to no one in particular._

_"C'mon, don't pout about it." Damon said._

_She had no idea when he left but he was now coming toward the truck carrying a shovel on his left shoulder. Bonnie watched as he dropped the shovel in the truck beside the body. She could feel a simmering anger rise just at the sight of him. But it was when he said in his most condescending voice,"It sucks to be you buddy" that she completely lost it. She was consumed by anger. She lifted her head toward him and felt the power beneath her veins come to life._

_She saw Damon clutch and heard him cry in pain. Turning her head toward the faucet behind her, she willed it open. She watched as the pressure from the tap made the pipe attached to it jump. She directed the water toward Damon who was still writhing on the ground in pain._

_"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt." Bonnie said._

_"I didn't do this." She heard Damon cry in agony._

_"Bonnie, it wasn't his fault." she heard Elena say._

_Scarcely believing what she was hearing she turned to her friend and said, "Everything that happens is his fault, Elena."_

_Ignoring any further comment from Elena, she turned back toward Damon. 'He is going to pay for this.' She thought._

***

Bonnie was vaguely aware that someone was calling her name.

Elena was shaking Bonnie but she was not waking up.

"Bonnie! Bonnie! Wake up!" Elena shouted.

"Elena, damn it! Do something. He's burning." Stefan yelled from across the hall.

Elena didn't need to be told twice, she could hear Damon screaming. She lifted her hand and slapped Bonnie hard right across her face. She sighed in relief as Bonnie startled awake.

Caroline who was in the hallway watched as the unidirectional fire went out. She turned toward Damon's room and watched as Stefan bit his wrist and pushed it into Damon's mouth. She turned toward Bonnie's room and almost broke down in tears when she heard what Bonnie asked.

"What happened?"

 

 


	21. Pop! Pop!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I thought I saw the devil this morning, looking in the mirror."
> 
> \- I'll be good by Jaymes Young.

Caroline Forbes was making coffee.

It wasn’t something people did in the middle of the night, but there was nothing else to do. After compelling Damon and Bonnie into a deep sleep, Caroline had washed and scrubbed everything in and out of the house, except for the flowers in the garden. She had begun by ripping out the burnt carpets from Bonnie’s room, the hallway and Damon’s room. Then she had proceeded to scrub the soot covered floor, and then eventually the whole house. When she grew tired of Stefan’s and Elena’s complaints about the noise and the smell of disinfectant, she had sent them to find new carpets. To which Stefan responded,

“Where are we going to get carpets at 2 am?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care, but I need you to get out of my way.” Caroline had replied as she walked out the back door. She was going to battle with the grease covered grill, and if she had anything to say about it, she was going to win. Extreme Cleaning! The equivalent of avoiding when applied to Caroline Forbes.

Caroline had come away from the battle of the grill victorious, but it hadn’t helped her at all. She was confused, frustrated and shocked with a touch of panic. All the scrubbing had not brought her any of the solutions she had been seeking. So here she was, making coffee at an ungodly hour.

She dragged herself to the kitchen table and sat in one of the seats. She placed her head on the table and let the sound and smell coming from the coffee machine soothe her.

“Life is such a bitch,” Caroline said to the empty kitchen. “Just when you think you have it all figured out…” She sighed.

“C’est la vie! French for life has a way of fucking you over. What happened to Bonnie being human? Huh?” She asked the empty kitchen. “I was just getting used to it. In fact, I was fine with it. This kind of ruins my whole argument about Bonnie being safe and human. An argument which I won by the way.” She shouted at the emptiness.

As she was contemplating about what to say next, she heard a car pull up.

“They better have found the right carpet, or I’m going to lose my mind.” She murmured to the table.

A few minutes later, Elena walked into the house carrying one of the carpets and threw it on the floor as she turned to look at Caroline through the kitchen door.

“No, by all means, don’t get up. I don’t need any help at all.” Elena said sarcastically to Caroline.

“You’re a vampire; you can handle it.” Caroline replied without lifting her head from the table.

Elena rolled her eyes and went back outside to help Stefan.

“Is Caroline still scrubbing?” Stefan asked once he saw Elena. He was pulling out the rest of the carpets from the trunk of the car.

“No. She’s making coffee. I’m assuming she ran out of things to clean.” Elena said smiling.

“Uh! So she scrubbed the whole house then?” Stefan asked smiling.

“Pretty much!” Elena said laughing. She took one of the carpets and carried it back into the house.

Stefan grabbed the last one and the rest of the shopping and followed Elena.

Elena was right. The smells of disinfectant and a myriad of other fragrances were overpowering, but not unpleasant. The smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen created a sense of comfort; a feeling Stefan hadn’t felt in a long time. He dropped the things he was carrying in the foyer and went back outside to lock the car.

“Are you ready to talk now?” Elena asked as she sat in one of the seats next to Caroline.

“No,” Caroline mumbled back as Stefan walked into the kitchen. “But, I am ready to install the new carpets.” She said rising abruptly from her seat.

“Can’t that wait until tomorrow?” Elena asked bewildered. “We don’t want to wake them up!”

“I compelled them to sleep like the dead for 12 hours. They wouldn't wake up even if the whole house came tumbling down.” Caroline said as she picked up one of the carpets.

Elena and Stefan exchanged looks, sighed, picked up the rest of the carpets and followed Caroline up the stairs.

Work! Work! Work! Another Caroline equivalent for avoiding.

**************************************************************************************************************

Bonnie woke up with an excruciating headache and a mild tingling sensation in her veins. It almost felt like an itch, one she could not scratch away. It was just there, bubbling beneath the surface of her skin. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but she was mildly aware of it.

She pulled off the covers and got up. She swung her legs off the bed and onto the carpet. As she wiggled her toes, a thought cropped up at the back of her mind.

‘There is something missing from the carpet. And what would a carpet be missing exactly? A pattern? What an absurd thought.’

She wasn’t sure what it was, or why she was thinking it, but she could not shake the feeling that there was something missing.

*********************************************************************************************************

Damon was having a hard time differentiating between what was real and what was his imagination. He was sure and willing to bet his life on it; he had been burning at some point during the night. However, as he stared at his unscarred legs, he was divided as to whether he should attribute it to a vivid, horrifying dream or check out the town’s psychiatric ward. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, and yet he could still smell the burning flesh. He knew it was just in his head, but the pain had been real, excruciating. Maybe! He wasn’t sure.

He stepped away from the full-length mirror and headed straight for the shower.

‘I am losing my mind.’ He thought as the hot water cascaded down his body.

****************************************************************************************************************

“What are we supposed to say when they get down here?” Elena asked.

“Well, I can tell you one thing, we are not compelling them to forget.” Caroline responded sassily.

Stefan cleared his throat as Elena tried and failed to understand why Caroline was being adamant about that one particular thing. They were seated at the kitchen table sipping on cups of coffee. It was the 5th pot.

“I had a suspicion that magic was involved, but after we ran into a witch, I am convinced.” Stefan said.

“And all the witches we know are in Whitmore.” Caroline said.

“Actually, we only have Alaric, who’s not even a witch. Liv left to join Tyler and Matt.” Elena corrected.

“So I guess we’re telling Alaric.” Stefan said rubbing his face with his hands in resignation.

“An Original is better than nothing Stefan, especially if we are dealing with a powerful witch.” Caroline said.

As Elena was about to offer an additional observation, Stefan said, “Incoming.”

They could all hear someone coming down the stairs.

*************************************************************************************************************

“Hey guys, bye guys.” Bonnie yelled from the foyer. She was late, already missed a class kind of late. She had no time for coffee or morning conversations at all. How she had managed to sleep for twelve hours was beyond her.

“Damon.” She yelled as she grabbed her coat from the coat rack and slipped on her shoes.

“Wait, what?” Caroline shouted from the kitchen. “There’s coffee.” She added lamely looking at Elena and Stefan in panic. It took a second for it to sink in, but when it finally did they all rose from their chairs in unison. By this time a harried-looking Damon Salvatore had made it downstairs and was putting on his shoes.

“Sorry guys,” Bonnie said as she opened the front door. “We’re so late it’s not even funny. I have to make a presentation in…” she looked at her watch and said, “15 minutes!” She grabbed Damon, and they were out the door before either of the three vampires could get over their shock.

“I guess the news could wait until they come back, right?” Caroline asked sheepishly.

They could hear the car start up and leave, but not one of them had the heart to stop them. They could pretend that nothing had happened with no consequences, right?

***********************************************************************************************************

**10.15 am**

Hillary watched as Bonnie made her way to her seat. Although she was only a few minutes late, judging from her appearance, it was a miracle she had made it to class at all.

‘Did something happen? Is the spell already unravelling?’ Hillary thought to herself.

Maybe, but she couldn’t know for sure until she asked. She would come up with a reason to see Bonnie Bennet after class. If the spell was unravelling, she would need to come up with a solution quickly; she had an idea, but she wasn’t sure it would work. The problem with her idea is that she needed a vampire, she knew three; she just didn’t know if they would help willingly.

But first, class.

*********************************************************************************************************

Damon was determined to ignore everything that he wasn’t sure had happened the previous night. He needed a distraction, and letting his students ask questions and discuss anything they wanted was just the kind of distraction he needed.

“Good news!” He started, “I have read your mid-term papers, and I have decided you are learning something. As such, I am going to let you ask questions you may have had while writing your papers. This is your one and only opportunity to witness my genius. There is only one condition; your questions have to revolve around the topic of war. For relationship advice, there is a campus hotline you can call.”

There was a smattering of laughter.

“Mr. Salvatore?”

“Yes, Blondie.”

“There are many conspiracies theories surrounding war, do you think that governments often set out to do the wrong thing under the guise of war?”

“Well, that’s a very complex question. The answer to this question would depend on a specific war or government. But I will say this; many things go unnoticed under the cover of war.”

_“Like the Battle of Willow Creek.” A voice said._

Damon didn’t see who had said that so he assumed it was one of the students and continued. “Technically the Battle of Willow Creek was not a cover up. The battle that took place in a small town in Virginia called Mystic Falls toward the end of the American civil war. Confederate soldiers fired on a church which they assumed was where the rebel soldiers were hiding. They killed 27 innocent civilians that day, but it doesn’t count as a cover-up because it wasn’t covered-up.”

_“What a lie!”_

Damon looked around the class, “Who said that? Why do you think it is a lie?”

_“You died that day.”_

“Who’s talking?” Damon asked.

He couldn’t pinpoint where the voice was coming from, and he wasn’t sure it was a voice he had heard before. His students didn’t seem to know what he was talking about.

_“They killed us…or tried to.” The voice continued._

“Who’s saying that?” Damon asked now becoming slightly agitated.

“There is no one saying anything Mr. Salvatore.” A slight brunette seated at the front of the class said.

_“I’m the one talking Damon, can’t you see me. Over here.”_

Damon looked around and saw a woman standing to his left.

“Elena?” He asked perplexed. The last time he had seen Caroline’s friend was at his house this morning.

_“Wrong brunette.”_

“What are you doing here, and how did you get in?” Damon asked her.

“Who are you talking to Mr. Salvatore?” One of his students asked. By now the students were murmuring amongst themselves.

_“You died trying to save little old me.” She said then giggled._

“What are you talking about?” Damon asked.

_“But your father didn’t approve. So he pointed his shotgun at you and…pop!”_

The students could only watch in horror as Mr. Salvatore fell to the floor clutching his side.

**10.30.**

 


	22. Well, I guess it's just us now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I could feel my heartbeat taking me down  
> And for the moment, I would sleep alright  
> I'm dealing with a selfish fear  
> To keep me up another restless night  
> Another restless night 
> 
> The blood was dry, it was sober  
> The feeling of audible cracks  
> And I could tell it was over  
> ...  
> \- I can feel a hot one, Manchester Orchestra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So,  
> This was supposed to be a small work of fanfiction, but somewhere along the way the story took on a life of its own. Now there are all these new characters, new scenarios and events that just keep popping up. 
> 
> I think at this point, it's safe to say I've written a novel. Unfortunate, but here we are.  
> However, the end is in sight, I hope. :-)
> 
> ***

“I knew we’d have to leave them, but I didn’t think it would be this soon,” Elena said as she stared at Bonnie and Damon through the window of Damon’s room. Stefan, Caroline, and Alaric were standing beside her looking at them too. Alaric put his arm around Elena, and a sorrowful silence settled over the foursome. ****************************************************************************************************************

(Two Hours Earlier)

Bonnie and Hillary were standing outside the lecture hall when Sam came running towards them. Hillary hadn’t got far enough in the conversation to ask Bonnie about whether she was getting enough sleep when Sam reached them.

“Bonnie! Bonnie!” Sam panted. “It’s Mr. Salvatore.”

“Take a deep breath Sam and start over,” Hillary suggested when she saw the panic on Bonnie’s face.

“He collapsed,” Sam said. “One minute we were talking about war crimes and the next he was on the floor.”

That’s all the information Bonnie needed to know at this time.

“Where is he?” Bonnie asked.

“They took him to Tonmore Hospital,” Sam replied as she watched Bonnie run down the hallway toward the exit.

Sam was about to follow her friend when Hillary grabbed her hand.

“I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Don’t leave a single detail out,” Hillary said to Sam.

It was happening much faster than she had anticipated. If this was going to work, she needed to know everything. This might not have been the first time it had happened to Damon, but she counted herself lucky that in this case, there had been witnesses.

*********************************************************************************************************************

Damon Salvatore was mumbling. He had been talking gibberish since he had been brought in. Dr. Nelson couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. He had tested him for everything from a ruptured spleen to internal bleeding. Nothing. And through all the tests Damon had continued clutching his side. It was puzzling. He had prescribed enough morphine to dull the pain without killing him and yet Damon was still in pain. Dr. Nelson was beginning to think there was nothing wrong with him physically; mentally maybe.

He looked at Bonnie through the glass window of the room and felt sorry that he didn’t have better news. He stood there watching Bonnie holding on to Damon’s hand for a while before he finally went into the room.

He sat down beside Bonnie thinking, ‘What is going on in that head of yours Damon?’

***

_“It’s excruciating isn’t it?” Elena asked._

_Damon had convinced himself that he had lost his mind. There were just too many things wrong with this scenario. For one, Elena was ecstatic that he was in pain and for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why. What had he ever done to her? He also had some questions concerning her 19 th-century attire. He also didn't understand why anybody would wear that in this day and age. He was also concerned that no one cared that he had been shot. There was a gaping wound on his side and no one, not even the doctor had done anything about it. When Bonnie had walked in he had been relieved because he had thought she would tell everyone what was wrong with him. But she was just sitting there. He had tried yelling, but they didn’t seem to understand what he was saying._

_Then there was the non-stop commentary coming from Elena._

_“Don’t worry; it’ll be over soon.” Elena prattled on. “I’ve heard that before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Is that true? Is that what is happening here?”_

_Damon just wished she would shut up._

_“Let’s see,” Elena said as she started counting something on her fingers. “I know what you were doing in the 40’s, the 60’s and the 70’s, but I’m curious about the 50’s. Where were you in the 50’s?”_

_Damon had no idea what she was talking about. As far as he was concerned, he hadn’t been alive in the 50’s. He was just about to let Elena know that when a memory flashed before his eyes. Suddenly he wasn’t in the hospital anymore._

 

_**********************************************************************************************************_

Theo had not slept in three days, and he looked it. The nightmares were back. In all fairness, the nightmares had never been gone; they had just taken a break. But ever since he came face to face with Stefan Salvatore, they had come back with a vengeance. Relentless. As if they were trying to pay back for the time they had been gone. Theo hadn’t been to school in a week. How was he supposed to teach, or do anything when all he could see was Stefan snapping Kerry’s neck over, and over again.

He splashed water on his face and looked at his reflection in the mirror above the sink.

“I look terrible.” He thought.

At that moment a quote came to him.

“ ** _An unhappy man dies long before his heart stops beating_**.”

He couldn’t remember where he had heard or read it, but neither seemed to matter at the moment. He’d been unhappy for a long time. A shell of a man crippled by loss. A dead man walking. It seemed fitting that he should remember that quote at this moment when he badly needed to make a decision.

He wiped his face and went back to the living room, where he had been sitting since 3 am. After he had woken up from his third nightmare, he had given up on sleep. He settled down on the couch and stared unseeingly at the TV. There was a show on, but he wasn’t paying enough attention to it to know what it was about, and he could care less.

He had been alive, somewhat, for five years longer than Kerry. He had spent that entire time worried that Stefan would find him and kill him. Stefan had found him. He was still breathing. Stefan had not killed him, and he hadn’t seemed interested in doing so. It was something Theo couldn’t wrap his head around. Did he want to be dead? Of course not. But why wasn’t he? From what he had learned about Stefan, and from the video Viral had shown him, Stefan did not seem like a man who had remorse. It was perplexing that when it had come down to it, all Stefan wanted to know was about Damon and Bonnie’s well-being. Why would he care about a brother he didn’t like and a girl whose father he had murdered?

Theo got up and headed for his bathroom. There was only thing to do. He could sit here and wonder about questions he couldn’t possibly answer, or he could be a man and confront the monster who had killed the woman he claimed to love. What’s the worst that could happen? He had died that night in Tennessee five years ago. The worst thing that could happen was that Stefan could make it permanent, and maybe he could finally be with Kerry. He was going to get an explanation, at the very least, before he saw her again. Unlike the first time, this time, he would face Stefan prepared. He had learned a few things since their last meeting. Either way, he was a dead man walking.

*********************************************************************************************************************

Elena was on the phone with Alaric when it happened. She had just finished telling him about their encounter with the witch when she heard it.

“Shoop.”

At first, she didn’t understand what it was until Alaric asked.

“Shoop.”

“Elena, is someone getting shot?” Alaric asked. “It sounds like a silenced gun.”

“I’ll call you back,” Elena said.

She pocketed her phone and moved slowly toward the open back door. She listened.

“Wooden bullets, modified gun, it’s a wonder what you can learn from the internet.” Elena heard a voice say. She was sure she had heard it somewhere.

“What the hell are you doing?” She heard Caroline ask through clenched teeth.

“Taking care of a vampire problem.” The voice said.

When she got to the door, she saw that Stefan and Caroline were both lying on the ground. Caroline was holding her stomach while Stefan’s hand was on his chest. He was hardly moving. Elena retrieved four blood bags from the freezer Stefan had hidden in the barn that was now a garage in a split second. She looked in through the back door and strategized on the best way to get in without getting shot. Once she had her path set, she ran in.

Theo heard a ‘swoosh’ and another before he saw Elena standing in front of him. She had the gun he had just been holding in her hand.

“It’s always a bad idea to ambush vampires,” she said. “It must have occurred to you that this was a suicide mission.”

“I thought it might be worth my while to straighten out a few issues before I died,” Theo replied.

Elena recognized that look. She’d once had that look.

“Have a seat Theo,” Elena said.

They were all in the foyer, there wasn’t any furniture, so Theo sat on the floor and placed his hands on his bent knees. Since he was now seated directly in front of Caroline, he watched in horror and mild disgust while Caroline fished out the wooden bullets from her torso and then from Stefan’s chest. When she was done, she ripped open one of the blood bags Elena had brought and downed it in less than a minute. She ripped another one and handed it to Stefan. Theo watched as Stefan did the same but much slower.

After what seemed like a minute, Caroline got up from the floor and looked down at Theo.

“What are we going to do about you?”

*****************************************************************************************************************

Hillary’s phone was ringing. She looked at the unknown number and wondered for a second whether she should pick it up. She was preoccupied with other matters. After a moment’s contemplation, she answered the phone.

“Hello?” Hillary said.

“Professor Mason, this is Vincent. We spoke a while ago about a certain spell. Do you remember?” Vincent asked.

“Oh yes. Hello Vincent,” Hillary said wondering why he was calling her.

“The reason I am calling is because I have new information concerning Alice Benson’s boyfriend that I think you should hear.”

Hillary felt her palms go balmy as she listened to Vincent.

************************************************************************************************************

“Why haven’t you killed me yet?” Theo asked the three vampires.

“I’m wondering the same thing,” Caroline said.

“You don’t mean that Care,” Elena said.

“For the record, this would go a lot faster if we could compel the answers out of you, but because you’re hopped up on vervain, that’s not an option,” Stefan said to Theo.

“We could just drain it out of him,” Caroline suggested looking down menacingly at Theo.

Elena and Stefan responded by looking at her.

“Ok, fine. He shot me, and I’m pissed,” Caroline said rolling her eyes.

“I don’t care what you do to me,” Theo said.

In response to Theo’s abandon Caroline threw up her hands in exasperation, Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest and said,

“I don’t think you know what that means.”

And Stefan just stared at him trying to figure him out.

“Or, you could just tell us what we need to know,” Stefan suggested.

Theo responded by snorting in disbelief.

“I just tried to kill you and your friends. I don’t understand why I’m not already dead,” Theo said.

“Sorry to break it to you buddy, but no one is going to kill you,” Stefan said.

“I beg to differ,” Caroline said as she paced in front of the front door.

“No one is killing anyone,” Stefan said.

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you!” Theo said looking at Stefan.

“How?” Stefan asked.

“For someone as bloodthirsty as you are, it comes as a shock to me that you would consider moderation,” Theo spat out.

It was the way he said it and looked or had been looking at Stefan that made Elena curious.

“Considering you’re sitting in a room full of vampires, who are by definition bloodthirsty, you seem to be holding that against Stefan more than the rest of us,” Elena said. “Which makes me wonder whether you’ve met him before.”

“I’ve never seen him before in my life. I met him for the first time at the barbeque.” Stefan said.

“I wouldn’t exactly call being a witness to murder meeting someone, but ok,” Theo said.

“What?” Caroline asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. As far as I know, no one has died since I got here.” Stefan said.

“Do you know us?” Caroline asked. She was growing tired of this cloak and dagger routine.

“No, just him,” Theo said.

“We’ve never met…before,” Stefan replied gesturing with his hands.

“Ok, could you please start from the beginning so that maybe we can get somewhere?” Caroline asked.

“Tennessee 2011, ring a bell?” Theo asked looking at Stefan. “Her name was Kerry. She did nothing, nothing other than committing the crime of having no knowledge about some guy you were looking for.”

“I still don’t understand. How is this the beginning?” Caroline asked exasperated.

But Stefan had become quiet. He was staring at Theo but at the same time not at him. His mind had travelled back in time to a small bar in Tennessee.

“Ray, Ray Sutton,” Stefan said softly. “He was a werewolf. Klaus needed werewolves.”

Caroline was about to say something when it finally dawned on her. So she remained silent. And seeing as Elena hadn’t said anything either, Caroline figured she must have put two andtwo together.

“You didn’t have to kill her. She didn’t deserve that,” Theo whispered softly.

“I did a lot of things I didn’t have to do that day,” Stefan said. “If you knew who I was then you must have known who Damon was.”

“How would he know that?” Elena asked.

“He was there that day,” Stefan answered.

Theo laughed dryly.

“It seems stupid now that I think about it,” Theo said looking at the floor wistfully. “I felt like I owed him.”

Caroline looked shocked yet mildly amused; Elena was flabbergasted, and Stefan was pensive.

“After you left the bar, Damon started cleaning up or rather staging a gas leak. I watched him collect and arrange all of the bodies. I was terrified. I couldn’t even breathe. He was almost done when he decided to look around for more bodies. That’s when he saw me. He stared right at me. There is no way he didn’t see me, yet he let me leave. I spent months after thinking he was coming for me. He never did,” Theo paused for a long time before he said anything else. “I felt like I owed him.” Theo finished looking at the three vampires standing in front of him.

“Then one day I got a call from a friend. That’s when I saw him again. I knew the moment I laid eyes on him who he was, but there was something different about him; he was human. So I helped him.”

“That doesn’t explain why you kept their identities a secret. You went so far as to lie about where they came from,” Caroline said.

“I was protecting them from Stefan,” Theo said.

“Why?” Elena asked.

“The last time Stefan and Damon were in the same room, Stefan threatened to kill Damon. Then after I watched the video of Stefan killing Bonnie’s dad I knew it was the right thing to do,” Theo said.

“Wait what?” Caroline and Elena asked in unison.

“But Sila…” Caroline had been about to point out that it had been Silas who had killed Bonnie’s dad when she realized Theo didn’t know that.

“I thought if I kept them safe, Stefan would never find them and by extension, I could keep him from massacring everyone on Campus and in this town,” Theo continued when he realized Caroline wasn’t going to finish her sentence.

“So all you’ve been trying to do is keep Bonnie and Damon safe? With no ulterior motive?” Elena asked.

“I just wanted revenge for Kerry, that’s all,” Theo replied remorsefully.

“I’m sorry. I truly am. I’m not like that anymore,” Stefan said softly.

“That doesn’t bring her back,” Theo replied.

***************************************************************************************************************

**_Stanton, 1955_ **

_“You lied to me,” Damon said angrily._

_Penelope looked at the vampire standing in front of her. She had hoped she would never see him again after their first encounter in 1918._

_“Why couldn’t you have told me the truth?” Damon asked. “I came to you in good faith. I even let you live.”_

_“I wasn’t going to help you release 27 vampires just so you could save one,” Penelope spat out as she outstretched her left hand._

_Pain shot through Damon’s head all at once that its intensity made him drop to the floor clutching his head._

_“I am not going to let you ruin this town again. It took a lot for me to clean up the mess you left behind last time,” Penelope said._

_“Bravo Miss Benoist. I didn’t know you had the entrepreneurship gene when we last met,” Damon said mockingly. “You turned a den of death into a flourishing boarding house, good for you.”_

_“How did you find me?” Penelope asked surprised the vampire could still speak amid the pain._

_“It’s hard to hide when you’re running a boarding house, Miss Benoist,” Damon whispered. He just needed another minute._

_“You’re a monster! I hope you burn in hell for what you did to Melissa,” Penelope said._

_“Not to worry,” Damon said as he began rising from the ground. “I’m sure there is a spot reserved specifically for me, but I’m not going there just yet.”_

_Penelope watched in horror as Damon got up and started walking towards her. She started chanting, Damon clenched his teeth but kept coming._

_“You’re powerful Penelope; I’ll give you that. But the last time we met, I wasn’t this mad,” Damon said. “You should know better! An angry vampire is an insane vampire.” Damon said as he reached out and grabbed the witch by her throat._

_With the pain gone, he lifted Penelope off the ground as the grip around her throat got tighter._

_“I am going to make sure that this time I ruin this little neighbourhood for good. I am going to taint it so badly that no one will ever want to live here,” Damon vowed before he broke her neck and threw her limp body away._

_Damon spent the next hour killing everyone in sight. Not only in the boarding house but anyone in the other nine houses on the street. By the time he was finished, the street was full of bodies and Damon was covered in blood. He walked among the dead and headed straight for the screaming woman who was determined to get away from him._

_“Stop screaming,” He said to her once he had caught her. “Now listen to me very carefully. You’re going to tell everyone, and I mean everyone in this town that this neighbourhood is haunted. You were chased by ghosts and demons as they tore, sucked and killed everyone. And after everyone has understood you’re going to publicly hang yourself.. I was never here. Do you understand?”_

_The frightened woman nodded._

_“Run,” He whispered. “The demons are still after you. Scream!”_

_The woman turned around and ran away as fast she could while screaming at the top of her lungs._

***

_Three days later while Damon was filling up his tank at the gas station he overheard two men speaking._

_The only survivor of the Stanton massacre had hanged herself in the town square._

_Damon paid and left the gas station, and Stanton with a cold little smile on his face._

_*****************************************************************************************************************_

Stefan Salvatore was looking down the barrel of a gun. He had told Theo everything he needed to understand and know about Tennessee; which is why they were standing in the foyer just the two of them. One contemplating death and the other contemplating murder.

But was it really murder when the person in question was already dead. Theo hadn’t figured that out yet.

“I understand how you feel Theo,” Stefan said.

“No you don’t,” Theo said shaking his head.

“If it will make you feel better, shoot me. I won’t try to stop you, and neither will my friends.”

Theo adjusted the gun in his hand and cocked it.

Outside, Caroline and Elena listened apprehensively. They were holding on to each other tightly knowing that there was a 50/50 chance that Stefan would die.

“Don’t interfere.” Those had been Stefan’s words.

Caroline was growing very tired of suicidal Stefan.

This was his chance to avenge Kerry. He could just pull the trigger and be done with it. Consequences be damned. He would never get another opportunity. Theo knew all this, and he still couldn’t pull the trigger. The monster from his nightmares was standing in front of him with his hands in the air, and he couldn’t shoot.

‘Pull the damn trigger,’ Theo thought. And yet his finger didn’t budge.

The sound of Theo’s phone ringing startled him, Stefan and the two girls sitting outside.

He pulled the phone from his pocket and answered it.

“Theo, it's Hillary. We need to talk.”

***************************************************************************************************************

Theo had walked into Tonmore University Hospital with the vampires following close behind him. Hillary had been cryptic on the phone but from what he and the vampires had gathered, Damon had collapsed, and he was dying. That had been enough to shake everyone out of their stupor.

Theo spotted Hillary talking to Dr. Nelson and made his way towards them. Before he reached them, Hillary broke away from the doctor and met him halfway. He waved at his friend as the Doctor walked away. Hillary led them all to an empty waiting room.

“Should I ask why you’re with the vampires?” Hillary asked.

Theo had almost forgotten they were there.

“It’s a long story,” Theo said sitting in one of the empty seats. “Let’s just call it a temporary truce.”

Hillary was still wary as she sat down looking at the vampires standing around her.

“I don’t buy it but has it just so happens I was planning on calling on of you anyway,” Hillary said. “I need to know how Damon died, the first time.”

“Why is that important?” Stefan asked.

“This will go a lot faster for everyone involved if we just save the questions for later. We don’t have enough time to start debating.” Hillary replied.

“He was shot,” Stefan answered tensely.

“Where?” Hillary asked.

“Mystic Falls,” Stefan replied. “I don’t understand why that’s important.”

“It isn’t,” Hillary said rubbing her face. “I meant did the bullet pierce his side?”

“Yes,” Stefan said.

It was just as she’d thought. Damon was reliving his death.

“A while ago,  before we discovered that you had already made contact with Bonnie and Damon, we discovered something. Before the other side collapsed, Bonnie’s grandmother made a deal with a coven to save her granddaughter. The coven cast a spell that was supposed to save Bonnie from death, but for some reason, the spell saved Damon too. I didn’t know anything about the spell so I asked around and a witch from New Orleans told me about it. In short, the spell is a sort of ‘starting over’ spell if you will. What the spell does is erase all the memories from a person’s mind. From what I can tell, the memories erased are connected to the people they once knew. Bonnie can remember how to use a phone, but not who bought her her first phone. Do you understand?”

“That’s why she can’t remember us?” Caroline asked.

“Yes, but this includes places, scenarios and in some ways feelings. She can’t remember Mystic Falls because it’s a part of your lives.” Hillary said pointing at them.

“But why are they suddenly remembering things or vaguely dreaming about them?” Elena asked.

“I was just getting to that,” Hillary said. “The spell only stays intact if the people the spell was cast on, in this case, Damon and Bonnie, never interact or see the people from their past lives.”

“Are you saying the spell started unravelling the day we found them?” Stefan asked.

“Yes,” Hillary said looking up at Stefan. “That’s exactly what I am saying. But the current problem we have is that Damon collapsed in class. After considerable inquiries, it seems before he collapsed Damon was talking to someone the rest of the class couldn’t see. According to one of Bonnie’s friends, Damon called her Elena.”

“That’s not possible,” Elena said confused. “I wasn’t…”

“Katherine,” Stefan interrupted.

“Well, whoever he was talking to was a hallucination. He collapsed a few seconds later clutching his side.” Hillary finished.

“Are you suggesting that Damon is remembering how he died?” Stefan asked.

“It is a possibility,” Hillary said. “And if he is then we have really run out of time. Just before I called Theo, my contact from New Orleans called with additional information. He said no matter what we do; we shouldn’t let Damon die. If he dies, he will become a vampire. Obviously, he doesn’t know anything about the situation, but that’s basically the gist of our conversation.”

“So you’re saying he is dying without actually dying?” Theo asked.

“Yes,” Hillary said. “Since you are all here, and there seems to be a ceasefire of some sort, please take your brother before he starts killing people. I think we’ve had our fill of vampires for one lifetime.”

“What about Bonnie? Is she ok?” Caroline asked.

“She’s fine, and I haven’t told her any of this,” Hillary said as begun rubbing her hands together. The next part was tricky. “I would like her to stay here. I think I owe it to her grandmother to get her out of vampire business once and for all.”

A few minutes went by before anyone said anything. Hillary had convinced herself that she would need to fight the issue of Bonnie. She was ready with a magical attack just in case. However, what Stefan said next surprised her.

“Isn’t there a way to put the spell back together? Even if we left Bonnie here, the spell would still unravel.” Stefan said.

“I have an idea on how to stop it, but I’m not sure it will work on Damon,” Hillary said. “If people are the key to the spell’s coming undone then people are the key to putting it back together. The spell is unravelling because she came into contact with people she was never supposed to see again, but what if there was a way to erase you. Reverting her back to the way she was before she saw you again.”

“You’re talking about compelling ourselves away,” Caroline said softly.

“Essentially,” Hillary agreed. “And that’s where you come in.”

“So do the same with Damon,” Stefan said.

“Damon is an incomplete variable that I can’t predict. If he is reliving his death, then he could already be in transition. This is unchartered territory. And if by some miracle, it could be done, we would need to do it before he dies,” Hillary said.

“But if he could be compelled, according to your theory, it would work on him too?” Stefan asked.

The hopeful gleam in Stefan’s eyes gave Hillary pause. Why were they so eager to go along with this plan?

“I have to say I am confused as to why any of you are considering this plan,” Hillary said. “Didn’t you come here for Bonnie and Damon?”

“It’s a long story,” Caroline said.

When neither of the three vampires ventured further explanation, Hillary let it go.

“As I said, this plan won’t work on Damon,” Hillary said. “Unless you’ve heard of vampires compelling other vampires.”

Caroline, Elena, and Stefan looked at each other and then at Hillary.

“It can be done,” Stefan said.

“He’s on his way,” Elena said.

****************************************************************************************************************

Alaric made it to the hospital in under 30 minutes. He had already been on his way when he heard someone get shot. After he had gotten over the shock of seeing Bonnie and Damon and absorbed the information about his best friend’s fading humanity, he’d come to see things from Caroline’s Elena’s and Stefan’s perspective. He hated being a vampire, but there was nothing he could do about that now. If there was even the slightest chance he could restore his best friend’s humanity, he would take it. One of them deserved to be happy.

*******************************************************************************************************************

Hillary and Theo could not understand how the vampires had eagerly agreed to this plan. A plan that involved leaving their friends behind. After explaining to Hillary why he had been at Salvatore Manor, Theo left to speak to Dr. Nelson. Hillary was standing alone in the corridor outside Damon’s room when she saw one of them, the dark-haired girl, seated in one of the benches. She took the opportunity to ask.

“I didn’t expect any of you to agree to this,” Hillary said when she was close enough.

“If you’d asked a year ago none of us would have agreed,” she said ruefully. “I guess we’ve changed. It took finding Bonnie and Damon for us to remember what happiness and normal looks like. Somewhere along the way, I think we all forgot how much we had lost.”

Hillary thought she looked sad when she said it. It made her feel sorry for her. For them.

***************************************************************************************************************

**Present**

One by one, Stefan, Elena and Caroline went into Damon’s room to say goodbye without actually saying the words. When Caroline was done, she asked Bonnie to walk her out so that Alaric could walk in without being spotted.

“Hey, buddy?” Alaric asked Damon.

Damon was lucid, but he seemed to be in a world of his making; as if he was existing in two worlds. Alaric positioned Damon’s head so that he was looking right at him.

“Damon,” Alaric started softly, “You’re not in pain anymore.”

He wanted to make sure that it would work before he begun. He watched as Damon visibly calmed down.

“Who are you?” Damon asked.

“That doesn’t matter now,” Alaric said.

Convinced that it would work, he begun.

***

When Alaric was done he stepped out into the hall and nodded at Stefan, Caroline, and Elena. Caroline stood from the bench where she had been sitting beside Bonnie, and Alaric took her place. Bonnie watched Caroline walked over to Stefan and Elena. They looked sad. Before she could say anything, she heard the man seated beside her speak to her. She turned to face him.

***

When Bonnie opened her eyes, she found herself seated on the bench in the hallway alone. She couldn’t remember why she was there, so she walked back into Damon’s room and sat in the chair next to his bed.

She could see that something had changed. Damon wasn’t mumbling or in pain anymore.  He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She took his hand in hers and whispered softly,

“Well, I guess it’s just us now.”

***

**END OF PART TWO**

 


	23. Part 3: Change is Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I found my heart, and broke it here.
> 
> -Castle on the Hill: Ed Sheeran

**Prologue**

Bonnie couldn’t breathe.

“Breathe Bonnie, Breathe!” She thought. “Fucking breathe!”

It was useless, no matter how loud she screamed at herself she couldn’t seem to breathe. She knew she wasn’t suffocating, she knew that she was breathing just fine, she could tell by the mouthfuls of air she was inhaling. But knowing and feeling are two different things.

“Is this what a panic attack feels like?” She wondered.

She stared out into the backyard and wondered for a second if what she was feeling was in fact pain. She closed her eyes and tried not to see what was out there. She tried to calm herself down by counting backwards from ten, but it didn’t work; she could still hear the pounding of her heart. She opened her eyes in frustration and tried to find anything, something to focus on. That’s when she saw it. The bracelet.

He had given it to her that evening before they left for the restaurant. He had said it matched her outfit perfectly so she’d worn it.

She was still dressed in the same clothes. A shimmering gold gown that fell like molten gold from her shoulders to her toes. She’d paired the gown with golden stilettos. The bracelet the only jewellery she’d worn.

_“You are breathtakingly beautiful.”_ He’d said when he saw her.

He was everywhere. She couldn’t escape him.

He was in everything she looked at. She saw him in the swimming pool, the garden, the jacuuzi, the garage, even on the back porch where she was now standing.

She turned around and went back into the house. Theo was standing in the kitchen doorway so to avoid him she turned right and went into the living room. She was just about to sit down when it all came flooding back to her. He was here too.

There were two coffee mugs on the table where they had left them this morning. So were the Game of Thrones DVD’s and his leather jacket.

His leather jacket.

She picked it up and clutched it to her chest. It smelled like him.

She couldn’t breathe.

Before she knew what was happening she was on her knees clutching her stomach while desperately trying not to let go of the jacket.

Hillary was by her side in an instant, but she didn’t want her help. She just needed him. Couldn’t they see that?

Bonnie felt as if the large airy living room was closing in on her.

“There are too many people here!” She thought.

She got up and escaped to her bedroom, shrugging off Hillary as she went. She closed the door behind her and leaned on it.

She still couldn’t breathe.

It only took a second for her to realize that even in the sanctuary of her own bedroom she couldn’t shake him.

She could still see him in her bed smiling at her. She could still hear the shower running. She could still smell the aftershave he had used that morning.

“He’s still here.” She thought.

It was in that moment that it finally dawned on her that she couldn’t escape him, not in this house. A house he had renovated for them. She closed her eyes and tried to forget, but even in the deep recesses of her mind he was still there. And yet he wasn’t

She slid to the floor and let the grief wash over her. It hurt so bad that she couldn’t keep herself from screaming, so she sat there on her bedroom floor, sobbing.

 ************************************************************************************************************************************************************#

**One Year Ago**

Damon slid back under his car and got back to work. His car didn’t need service, but it was the only way he could think of to clear his head. He needed the distraction.

He was tightening the oil cap bolt when he heard the car. He didn’t need to slide out to know who it was. It was Brian, Bonnie’s boyfriend. Damon couldn’t tolerate the guy, but Bonnie liked him so he made sure he kept his opinions to himself.

“Damon are you under there?” He heard Bonnie ask. “Come say hi to Brian.”

Damon rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, plastered a smile on his face and slid out back from under the car.

“Hi? How was the fair?” He asked looking at the couple.

“It was great, there was this one…” Bonnie answered but Damon wasn’t listening. He was too busy staring. He wondered whether in his lifetime, including the time he couldn’t remember, he had ever seen anyone more beautiful.

“Brian and I were just going to get a snack, do you want anything?” Bonnie asked.

It took a moment before Damon realized he was expected to give a response.

“No. I’m ok. Thanks.”

Bonnie smiled, took Brian’s hand and led him through the backyard to the back door. Damon watched them walk away.  

Three months and three days. That’s how long he’d been in love with Bonnie Bennet.

He was willing to bet that for as long as he lived he would recall that day, that moment, in perfect detail. He was at the Stanton gas station when the enormity of the situation had dawned on him.

There had been a slight breeze in the air but not windy enough to warrant protection from the elements. The excitement in the air around Stanton had been palpable, even at the small gas station far away enough from Stanton town not to be considered a part of the township.

As if sensing the town’s excitement the stars had come out in all their glory. He remembered that particular detail because he had gazed up at the inky sky with its chandelier-like stars and wondered if the heavens were attending the party too.

The Winter Party. An annual tradition for the people of Stanton. It was the one night the university opened its doors to the town and the people who lived in it.

 In the time it had taken him to fill up his tank, he had seen so many dressed up people, he was beginning to feel under dressed. He wasn’t going to the party. If it hadn’t been for Bonnie, Stanton’s Winter Party would have gone unnoticed by him.

After being discharged from the hospital, Theo had practically ordered him to take leave until he got better. He had gone so far as to threaten him with jail time if he did not comply.

With nothing to do and a lot of time on his hands, Damon had gone back to remodelling the house; the backyard to be specific. The barn cum garage had been finished and was currently home to his 1967 Chevy Camaro. After that was done, he had sat down with a designer and drawn up plans for a swimming pool with an inbuilt waterfall.

On that night, he had been coming back from meeting with the pool contractor when he’d seen Bonnie through her partly open door. Damon had stood at her door mesmerised by the sight in front of him. She was dressed in a white sequined full-length bare-backed dress. She had her hair up in a chignon leaving the clasp of her necklace visible at the base of her neck.

When she had finally seen him and turned around, she had taken his breath away.

“Beautiful,” was all he had said.

“Are you ok?” Bonnie asked

Until she’d asked that he had not been aware that he was staring.

“You look absolutely beautiful,” He’d said.

“You’ve said that already,” Bonnie had replied smiling.

The moment was interrupted by the ringing of Bonnie’s phone. While she spoke on the phone, Damon had stared at her unreservedly. He had always known she was beautiful, but looking at her now, he had a feeling that that adjective did not do justice to the woman standing in front of him.

It had been sometime before he realized that Bonnie had stopped speaking and that she looked unhappy.

“What’s wrong?” He’d asked.

“It looks like I won’t be going to the party after all,” She’d responded.

“Why’s that?”

“Brian won’t be able to make it. He’s having car trouble.”

Damon had schooled his disbelief and tried very hard not to look annoyed.

“ _What an idiot. Car trouble? Really?”_ He’d thought.

He had smiled at her and pondered whether he should take her instead until he’d remembered that going with Brian was all she had spoken about the whole week. If that’s what she wanted, that’s what she was going to get.

After excusing himself and closing her door, he had called Brian on his way to his car. He’d asked him to call and apologize then say that he’d resolved his car issues and that he would pick her up. Then he’d asked him to meet him at the gas station.

Which is why he had been at the gas station that night. The limo he had ordered had arrived a few minutes before Brian.

“You ordered a limo?” Brian had asked in astonishment.

There was no way his Bonnie was not arriving at that party in style. Instead of answering his question he had hustled Brian into the car and told him to leave before Bonnie gave up hope.

Long after the limo had left, it occurred to him that in that moment of charity, he had thought of Bonnie as his.

Three months. That’s how long.

However, after that discovery Damon begun dating a lot. He was trying to convince himself that he wasn’t in love with Bonnie.

There’d been Krystal, Cheryl, Lindsay, Kimberly, Karen, Christine, Lynda, Linda, Amanda, Jennifer, Cheyenne, Toni, Chrystal, Samantha, Tristan, Diane, Hellen, Collette…The point was he had dated a lot. It hadn’t worked of course.

*

Damon sighed and slid back under his car.


	24. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> " I'm falling, I'm falling in love with you."  
> Falling - Tyler Ward.

**11 Months Ago**

Bonnie was falling.

She wasn’t sure when it had begun but as she stood in the kitchen staring at Damon she knew she’d been falling long before this moment. She’d only just noticed. She was amazed that she’d been living with this man for so long and was only just now seeing him for the first time. She wanted to hug him, she wanted to hold him so tight he would never be rid of her. She wanted to hold his hand, she wanted to kiss him. She wanted!

“Dude, you had no right to hit me!”

Brian’s shout suddenly brought Bonnie out of her reverie and into the moment.

“And that attitude is exactly why I’m not done with you.” Damon retorted trying to get his hands on Bonnie’s current boyfriend.

Had they even officially broken up yet? She’d caught Brian kissing another girl in his dorm room yesterday. Bonnie was sure that if she hadn’t walked in when she did they would have gone further if they hadn’t already. The words that she had planned on saying when she walked into the room had died on her lips.

It hadn’t come as a surprise to her. Not really. If she was honest with herself she would admit that deep down she wasn’t hurt by it, as if she expected it, as if she’d wanted something like that to happen. There had been moments in their relationship when she’d felt that she wasn’t giving it all she had. She’d often felt as if she wasn’t as keen on it as he was, or appeared to be, considering.

She’d been making herself a cup of coffee when Brian had suddenly appeared in their kitchen apologising profusely. Bonnie had been so surprised by his entrance that she hadn’t heard a single thing he’d said. It wasn’t until Damon punched Brian, twice, that she realised he’d said enough for Damon to put two and two together.

Now, Brian was standing in their kitchen holding his bleeding nose while Damon stood across from him looking like he wanted nothing more than to finish what he had started. And if Bonnie hadn’t been standing in between them he probably would have.

“Brian, you should probably leave,” Bonnie said.

“I …”

Before Brian could put up an argument Bonnie insisted.

“Brian!”

“Ok! Fine! But I am sorry.”

Brian was still holding his nose which made him sound like he had sinuses.

“I’ll call you later,” Bonnie said.

“You are not welcome here,” Damon gritted out.

Brian made his way out of the kitchen making sure that the kitchen counter stood between him and Damon. Bonnie would have found Brian’s exit funny and a little ridiculous if she’d been looking at him. She was, however, looking at Damon or at his eyes to be more specific.

“Have his eyes always been this blue?” Bonnie wondered.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had taken two steps closer. She only realised how close they were when Damon looked down at her and almost drowned in his eyes.

“I’m sorry Bonnie. You didn’t deserve that.” He said.

Bonnie almost gasped when Damon took her hand in his. It took a second before Bonnie could come up with an appropriate response.

“I’m fine Damon,” She said.

She hated how breathless she sounded but she was finding it hard to breathe. Damon was leaning forward when his vibrating phone interrupted them. It was Abigail, Damon latest fling. Seeing Abigail’s name on his phone’s screen broke Bonnie out of her spell.

_“What are you doing? He’s dating for God’s sake! He even has a dinner date,”_ Bonnie thought.

She tugged her hand out of his and started toward her abandoned coffee.

“You should pick that.”

“I can cancel Bon.”

“No, don’t do that. I need to talk to Brian anyway. I’ll be fine. I promise,” She smiling.

“Bon…”

“Damon…”

And with that Bonnie turned away giving Damon some privacy to speak on the phone. When she heard the muffled “Hello” she let the smile she’d plastered on her face drop.

_“What was that?”_ Bonnie wondered.

**

“I’m really sorry Bonnie.”

Brian was sitting outside the school library but he stood up the moment he saw Bonnie approaching the bench.

“You’ve said that already,” Bonnie said when she was close enough. She gestured to the bench and sat down. Brian sat beside her.

“I’m sorry Bonnie,” Brian started.

“Brian…,” Bonnie said turning to look at him. She paused for a moment before she continued, “I’m not hurt. Not as I should be. And that says everything doesn’t it?”

“I guess,” Brian agreed sheepishly.

“I always felt a little guilty about not being more available in our relationship.”

“I guess we’re both guilty of that.”

“Look at us,” Bonnie said laughing.

They both started laughing before long and it was soon followed by a long companionable silence.

“Is it him?” Brian finally asked.

The question was so ambiguous and random that it threw Bonnie for a loop.

“What?” Bonnie asked bewildered.

“You did always seem…” Brian paused as if looking for the right word, “distracted. Somewhere in the back of mind I always thought that maybe you had feelings for him that you weren’t exploring or wouldn’t admit. I’m not excusing my actions but I…”

“What are you talking about?” Bonnie asked.

“Damon. I mean Damon. I’m actually kind of glad if your feelings are making all this easier. It’s selfish I know! I mean it’s not like it’s one-sided. I think he more than likes you too.” Brian went on oblivious to Bonnie’s turmoil.

“What?” Bonnie. It was all she could say.

“You didn’t know? I thought you knew. I mean he paid for the limo we took to the Winter party and the trip to the Alps. I thought he told you,” Brian said more confused than ever.

“No, he didn’t,” Bonnie said in a daze. “I have to go Brian.”

Brian replied but Bonnie wasn’t listening.

***

When Bonnie got home she found Damon in the kitchen opening a box of pizza.

“I thought you had a date,” Bonnie said.

“Cancelled it. Thought I’d spend the evening with my favourite girl instead,” Damon replied.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know. I wanted to.”

Bonnie’s heart fluttered a little at that. And suddenly all the things she’d rushed over to ask him didn’t seem so important. As she stood smiling at him she wondered if there was anything on this earth that could possibly hold a candle to the brilliance of Damon’s smile and twinkling blue eyes.

“You want a piece of this? It’s your favourite!” Damon said while waving a slice of pizza at her.

Maybe falling wasn’t so bad.


	25. Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never knew loving could hurt this good, oh  
> And it drives me wild
> 
> 'Cause when you look like that  
> I've never ever wanted to be so bad, oh  
> It drives me wild
> 
> Wild by Troye Sivan  
> ............

****

**8 Months ago**

“Bonnie sweetie, you’re doing it wrong!” Damon said.

He was watching Bonnie try and fail to remove one of the nuts from the Camaro’s tires. She had placed the wheel spanner on one the nuts and was jumping on it trying to unscrew it. Unbeknownst to her, she was actually tightening it rather than unscrewing it but he didn’t have the heart to tell her. Or maybe he did but he was enjoying himself too much.

It was three months since she broke up with Brian and they had spent every day together when they were not on campus. It wasn’t that hard to do when you lived in the same house but Damon had cherished every moment. Although he’d spent the last four months in love with her he hadn’t dared say a word. He wanted to give her time to get over Brian but more than anything he didn’t want to be the rebound.

“I’ve almost,” Bonnie panted “got it.”

“You’d think so.”

“This… would… go… much… faster… if… you… would…just… keep… quiet!” Bonnie punctuated every word with heavy panting.

Damon started laughing.

“It’s the other way, Bonnie.” He said when he had finally caught his breath.

“What?” She asked bewildered.

“Turn the wheel spanner the other way.”

“Have you been standing there all this time watching me make a fool of myself?”

“If it makes you feel better, I enjoyed every bit of it,” Damon said smugly.

“Damon…” Bonnie said jumping off the wheel spanner.

“Bon Bon…” He replied with an amused smile.

When Bonnie tried to mock hit him with the spanner he was ready. He caught her arm and took the weapon away holding it high above his head. She immediately started jumping up and down trying to reach it. It was in moments like these that Damon was reminded of how short Bonnie really was. Sometimes she would walk into a room and all he could see was her, she could brighten, fill up, make come alive a room by just being in it that he forgot how truly miniature she was.

“Give it back!” Bonnie said.

“Not until you promise not to use it as a weapon,” Damon replied smiling widely.

She huffed and jumped on him trying to get to the spanner. Damon also loved that she was small enough to jump on him like that.

“Get off of me Bonnie,” Damon said laughing and praying that she didn’t actually do it. He was simultaneously trying to keep the spanner away from her and trying very hard not to drop her. He put his free arm around her to steady her and threw the spanner behind him.

He immediately regretted that decision when she jumped off of him to look for the tool that had fallen somewhere in their backyard. He let her get a few feet away from him before he ran after her.

Soon enough the silent afternoon was filled with the sound of their laughter as Damon chased Bonnie around their compound.

They were both soaking wet by the time Damon caught Bonnie on the stairs. Inexplicably, they had both ended up in the pool after Damon had tripped and taken Bonnie down with him.

They were both panting and laughing when Damon slipped his arms around her from behind at the top of the stairs. He rested his head on her shoulder as they both caught their breath and continued to hold on to her for a few minutes before it occurred to him what exactly he was doing.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” he mumbled into her shoulder before he reluctantly let go.

When Bonnie turned around he gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she looked up at him and didn’t reply.

“ _Her eyes are the most beautiful shade of green I have ever seen_ ,” he thought. “ _I could lose myself forever in those eyes._ ”

And he did. Before his mind could register what his body was doing he found himself kissing Bonnie, a quick, gentle kiss right on the lips. He was looking into her eyes when he did it and if anyone had asked him right then, he would have gladly told them that he had found the answers to the universe in her eyes.

He could hear his heart pounding and knew that the whole world could hear it too. Even as he let himself get caught up in the beauty that was her eyes he wondered if he had gone too far, too soon. Before he could come up with an appropriate excuse, Bonnie got on her tip toes and kissed him back. Soon, any doubts that Damon had disappeared. It was the only invitation he needed.

He kissed her again, this time with fervour. He kissed her as if he was dying man, and she tasted like heaven. With every slide of their lips, he felt like he’d been thirsty and on the verge of death before Bonnie came along. He could kiss her forever and he tried to but before long they were both gasping for air. He’d never hated breathing as much as he did in that moment.

He wanted more.

***

She wanted more.

Sure, there was a lot to talk about but she had spent the last three months trying not to fall too fast for this blue-eyed ridiculously gorgeous man. She’d spent the month after her breakup worried that Damon was her rebound so she’d avoided doing or saying anything that would push this very scenario. Then she’d spent the second month craving oxygen because every time he walked into her field of vision she forgot how to breathe. By the beginning of this month, she’d finally calmed down enough to enjoy his presence. So, no she wasn’t going to think about all the reasons falling was a bad idea. Not now when his lips tasted like heaven.

She let out a moan of approval when Damon’s lips found her neck. She felt feverish, in the best sort of way but she wanted to burn. She ran her hands through his hair and enjoyed every sensation Damon’s roaming hands were giving her.

She’d never felt so alive. What Damon was doing to her made her make out sessions with Brian seem like child’s play. She could feel every sensation in her veins.

Oh yes, she wanted more.                                                                                                                   

Before she could forget what his lips tasted like, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and brought his lips back to hers. She put her hands on either side of his head and tried to drown in the sensation of his lips. When she felt his tongue caress her lips she opened her mouth and let him in. Bonnie was sure she’d never been kissed like this before.

She could feel her knees begin to buckle and if Damon’s hands hadn’t cupped her butt cheeks in that moment her legs would have failed her. When she felt the subtle upward movement on her ass, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips. His lips never left hers even as he carried her to his room.

Bonnie was momentarily disappointed when his lips left hers as he placed her gently on his bed. She then watched in awe as he knelt in front of her and smiled up at her. When she smiled back at him she felt the joy of that smile all the way to her toes. He removed the ballet shoes she was wearing and begun kissing her from the bottom up. He started with her stockinged feet, then her legs, behind her knees – an action that left her breathless. Then he pushed up the dress she was wearing and kissed the tops of her knees, her thighs and her hips as he hooked his fingers into the elastic band of her stockings. Soon enough the stockings had been done away with.

Damon was looking at her when he returned his hands to her hips and started slowly pushing the dress up; the dress soon went the way of the stockings. He then bowed his head and kissed her right hip then her left and she trembled when he kissed her there through her panties. She watched as he kissed her navel, held her breath as he kissed a path between her breasts and quietly moaned as he kissed the top of each breast.

Bonnie felt like a goddess, she was being worshipped by Damon. The thought brought a moisture to her eyes that she couldn’t control. If she hadn’t been falling before, then she was definitely falling now.

Damon was still kneeling on the floor when their eyes met again. He continued to stare at her as he removed his shirt and his jeans.

“ _God, he’s gorgeous_!” She thought.

She watched as he got up and moved toward her. She instinctively moved back on the bed until he was leaning over her. Their lips met and he used his body to gently pushed her onto the bed. After what seemed like only a few seconds to Bonnie, Damon moved them until they lay side-by-side on the bed kissing. The kissing went on for a while before Damon turned her back to him and concentrated on unclasping her bra. He kissed her shoulders, her arms and her back while he did it. When the bra was discarded, his hands travelled down to her panties.

Bonnie could feel his hands tugging on her panties so she lifted her hips to help him. She felt his hands run down her thighs as he pushed them the rest of the way and then felt them as they travelled back to her hip. His hand disappeared for a second or two before it settled back on her hip. She then felt his lips return to the base of her neck. A sensation that made her bite her bottom lip.

She could feel him against her ass, she could feel how hard he was and that made her centre throb. She wanted to turn around but Damon’s hand was holding her in place. She felt his hand slide down the side of her hip and settle right above her womanhood. It lingered there while he nibbled on her neck then she felt a finger slide over her clit. The sensation was so acute that she heard herself whimper.

She couldn’t see him but she loved what his finger was doing to her. It was slow and languid as if his finger was introducing itself. With each rub, she wriggled until she finally pushed herself against him and heard him gasp. Spurred on by that sound she pushed back even more until she felt him pressed right between her cheeks.

“Not yet baby,” Damon whispered in her ear.

The raw timbre of his voice was almost her undoing. By now he’d established a steady rhythm and she could scarcely breathe. With each rub, she opened her legs a little wider. Before long she felt a finger probe her entrance and all coherent thought left her.

****

“ _She’s so beautiful_ ,” Damon thought. He had wanted to touch her like this from the moment he had seen her before the winter party. Now that he had the opportunity, he was going to savour it, even if it killed him.

Wanting to savour her and doing it were two different things, however. She was so wet and her little whimpers were driving him crazy. It was hard not to fall apart.

Her whimpers were now being punctuated by the occasional moan as he rubbed his thumb against her clit while he worked his middle finger in and out of her. She was getting closer and if it was possible he had become even harder.

“Come, baby,” Damon whispered in her ear and as if waiting for permission he felt a shudder rock her body. He continued working his fingers through her orgasm and when she was done he turned her around so he could look at her. Then he kissed her eyelids, her nose and finally her lips.

He kissed her deeply and revelled when she kissed him back with just as much passion. They remained laying side-by-side and kissing for a long time, all the while losing themselves in each other’s eyes. However, it was Bonnie’s hand on his manhood that reminded him of his own need. They continued kissing even as her hand gently caressed him between his legs and their kissing deepened when she started gently pumping him.

When he felt her leg on his hip he pushed in, spreading her legs even wider, until he could feel his manhood against her centre. That’s when the kissing stopped and their eyes held. He wanted to look into her eyes when he finally pushed into her. He felt her hand guide him to her entrance and almost came. While still looking at her he pushed into her until he was fully seated in her.

He watched in fascination as her eyes turned an even deeper shade of green and remained still as he let himself feel her. She was tight and wet. When he couldn’t hold any longer he began moving, slowly at first, never letting his eyes fall from hers. After a while, he increased his speed and watched every expression that fleeted across her face. He kept that rhythm until he felt the pressure build in his balls.

“You feel so good Bonnie Bennet,” He whispered in reverence as he pushed in even deeper and amped the speed.

While he was still thinking coherently he thought about how happy he would be if he could spend his whole life in this moment, losing himself in her eyes and moving in and out of her. If he could, he probably would.

If there had been any doubt before as to his feelings for her, they were cemented for him in this moment, on the cusp of soaring. With every thrust he made he knew he would spend his whole life worshipping her. She was his queen, there would be no other. Not now not ever. If he had to keep it to himself for the rest of his life he would. And even as he made that promise to himself he showed every emotion in his eyes and willed her to see it. He felt his love for her cement itself in his soul and his realisation of it made his eyes water.

By this time they were both moaning and he tried to make it last longer but he knew they were both going to explode soon. He could see it in her eyes and he wanted to watch as she fell this time. He didn’t have to wait long, he was pumping into her fast enough that he could hear the slap of their bodies.

She called out his name when she came and he followed her soon after. By the time he came down from his high he was spent and ridiculously in love with Bonnie Bennet.

 


End file.
